Coronavirus brings hard times for Boeing, long a symbol of American might

Faced with the calamitous fallout from the coronavirus on airline customers and the broader economy, Boeing found itself in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable position in March.

The company, a longtime symbol of American industrial power, was unable to raise the funds to finance its business.

Since that low point as the coronavirus health crisis was mushrooming into an economic crisis, private bond markets have improved considerably, enabling Boeing to fill its liquidity gap with $25 billion in bonds issued last month.

But that bitter reality at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic underscores how deeply the 103-year-old company has fallen, in no small part due to its own missteps.