New flights of fancy to Hawaii

Fresno, anyone? Now that Allegiant Air has received federal certification to fly Boeing 757-200s, the airline moved a step closer to its plans to fly directly to Hawaii from smaller markets, including possibly from Fresno, Calif., where the airline was founded.

The service could be a boon for tourists who don’t want the added expense and hassle of flying through a major hub like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

But it could benefit local folks going the other way — especially to a destination that’s closer to family or a student who attends a small-town college.

The Hawaii flights are slated to begin in the summer of 2012.

The mysterious economic indicator

Pity the poor simpleton — meaning, everyone — who despairs at parsing the economic indicators these days.

In the space of 48 hours last week, the pendulum for Wall Street watchers swung between hope and gloom. On Thursday, the private payroll processing firm ADP said the private sector added 157,000 jobs, more than twice what was forecast. Up to the rooftops went the Dow. The next day, the government’s own report showed a measly 18,000 new jobs. Down to the cellar with the stocks.

We exaggerate, but it really is exhausting watching this stuff. Let’s go back to reading tea leaves, shall we?