I haven't heard of another story recently that reinforces the need to check and double check information before making financial decisions. On Monday an investment newsletter mistakenly sent out a story about United Airlines (UAL) filing for bankruptcy which caused the price of the stock to drop as worried investors banged out, "sell, sell, sell!" on their keyboards.

The only problem was that the bankruptcy story, passed off as a current event by the investment newsletter, actually happened back in 2002. Something that investors could have figured out if they took a minute to read the article or confirm information.

United denied the rumor that it was undergoing bankruptcy after it became clear that this old news had caused its stock price to drop Monday. Analysts expect United's stock to make a recover as the market opens on Tuesday, which could cause the investors who pulled out on Monday a loss if they haven't been paying attention to today's news.

Slightly more troubling is the fact that Income Securities Advisors Inc, the company who published the item sees nothing wrong with the action and doesn't plan to put any measures in place to prevent old news from being republished in the future.

Don't get me wrong, the losses on this one lie at the hands of investors who didn't adequately research a piece of information before acting on it, and I am sure some of them will suffer financially for their rashness. In another example of market forces, I'm sure that by not addressing the issue, Income Securities Advisors Inc's newsletter will be dealt with accordingly as readers look for more reliable sources of information. Don't forget a hot tip to sell stock should be given the same research that a hot tip to buy stock gets. Don't get burned by your own lack of ignorance.

Even though summer isn't over yet, for those of you who travel over Thanksgiving, it is already time to start thinking about booking your flights.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest flying times of the year and this year there are going to be a lot fewer flights available. In an effort to save on costs and in hopes of being able to raise prices, airlines are cutting back on the number of flights they offer. American airlines is shrinking its flight capacity in its main US markets by up to 12% in the Fall and United by up to 16.5%. (Southwest just announced it would cut 200 flights, or about 6%, but not till January, 2009).

Travelers in certain markets will find the cuts much more severe than those percentages imply. If you are used to taking a direct flight, from, let's say, Albany to Chicago on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, you will have half the amount of flights to choose from -- four this year, down from eight last year, according to a report from USA Today. From Boston to Chicago there are three fewer flights, from San Diego there are two fewer flights, and from Pittsburgh there are six fewer direct flights on that route that day.

UAL Corp's United Airlines (UAUA) announced Thursday it was going to follow American Airlines' lead and charge $15 for the first checked bag. United had already started charging steerage passengers $25 for a second bag. The fees are each way, so the standard two checked bags will now cost $80. Want to bring a third bag? You may as well Fed Ex it. That'll run you somewhere between $125 and $250, the press release says, without explaining the particulars.

United estimates their plan will rake in $275 million a year. That would be a huge amount of money for United, which has revenues of $20 billion, but net income of only $400 million.

The trouble is, when you set up such stark economic incentives, customers react. How many weekend passengers are just going to stuff what they need into their carry-on bag instead of checking a bag? Who is going to check two small bags when one large one will cost $50 less? United is incentivizing customers to behave badly. The shuffle of carry-on bags slows down passengers and airlines alike. In the name of efficiency, wouldn't it make more sense to charge for carry-ons and keep checked bags free?

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