NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 6, 2009--Boeing Co. (A/Stable/A-1) announced today a $1 billion pretax charge for higher costs and delays in its B747-8 widebody aircraft development program. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that the news will not affect its rating (which we lowered to the current level on July 29, 2009) or outlook on the Chicago-based aerospace and defense company. The charge consists of $640 million for higher estimated costs due to engineering delays that caused "greater-than-expected rework and disruption in manufacturing," and $360 million for added costs, because Boeing is responding to the weak aerospace market by delaying planned future increases in the plane's production rate. The former part of the charge, which relates to the
