On first blush, it might seem that Northrop Grumman Corp. has the most to lose in the unlikely event that the company's proposed merger with Lockheed Martin falls apart (see p. 24).

A combination of powerful market forces for which little or no letup is in sight suggests there may be substantial upside in the stocks of selected, lower-tier aerospace suppliers--although pricing and productivity will continue as potential problem areas.

Some Wall Street analysts expect a growing number of aerospace/defense companies to implement a more rigorous coupling of executive compensation to stock-price performance.

Observers of the U.S. airline industry--not to mention investors--surely must wonder what it will take for Trans World Airlines Inc. to start earning a net profit.

Until last week, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) was considered one of the companies that would survive the consolidation that is gaining momentum in the federal services and information technology market.

Consolidation pressures, depressed Asian demand and uncertainties about how global alliances will be regulated are likely to be troublesome for Europe's major airlines this year, preventing most of them from matching their record 1997 financial performances, according to some British and German market analysts.

When Northwest and Continental airlines announced their proposed alliance last week (see p. 32), some industry observers quickly assumed the partnership--if approved--will trigger further U.S. carrier consolidation.

Despite Boeing's dominant position in the commercial aircraft market and its leading position in defense and space, a host of uncertainties surrounding the company's near-term business prospects prompted Standard&Poor's to revise its outlook for the troubled aerospace giant to ``negative'' last week.