2012年最差交易大盘点

达美航空收购一家精炼厂

    消费者对航空公司有大把的抱怨，但是他们不会埋怨航空公司不去自己炼油。尽管如此，今年4月，达美航空（Delta）还是决定斥资2.2亿美元收购并重启费城郊区一家关闭了的精炼厂。这还不是达美航空今年最大的交易。今年12月，达美航空同意以3.6亿美元的价格收购维珍大西洋航空（Virgin Atlantic Airlines）49%的股份（这笔交易也受到了广泛地批评），但最引起争议的还是收购精炼厂的交易。

    达美航空的CEO理查德·安德森表示，收购精炼厂将大大降低燃油价格涨跌给达美航空带来的风险。这话没错，但同时它也会大大增加原油价格变动给公司带来的风险，因为精炼厂所用的原料正是原油。而且就在安德森关心燃油问题的时候，旅客们却在想，为什么飞往亚特兰大的中转航班过了这么久还不来。

    编者按：本文之前的一个版本写道，达美航空于12月同意收购维珍美国航空公司49%的股份，特此更正，达美航空同意收购的是维珍大西洋航空的股份。

Delta buys a refinery

    Consumers have a ton of complaints about airlines. That they don't refine their own jet fuel is not one of them. Nonetheless, in April, Delta (DAL, Fortune 500) decided to spend $220 million to buy and restart a shuttered oil refinery on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It wasn't Delta's largest deal of the year. The company agreed in December to buy 49% of Virgin Atlantic airlines for $360 million (a deal that received plenty of criticism, too). But the refinery acquisition was Delta's most controversial.

    Delta's CEO Richard Anderson said the refinery would greatly reduce the airline's exposure to rising and falling jet fuel prices. Yes, but it will also greatly increase the company's exposure to changes in the price of oil, which is the primary input for a refinery. And while Anderson is worried about that, passengers will be left wondering why their connecting flight in Atlanta never showed up.

    Editor's note: A previous version of this slide incorrectly stated that Delta agreed to purchase 49% of Virgin America in December. Delta agreed to purchase a stake in Virgin Atlantic.