Power Breakfast: Hartsfield traffic slipping, foreclosures, commercial loan losses, Final Four, Macy’s, health reform

Hartsfield may not be quite so busy over the next few years.

AJC staffer Kelly Yamanouchi reports that the Atlanta airport’s passenger counts have slipped since the peak year of 2008. That’s when 90.6 million people got on or off flights here, and forecasts are that there won’t be a full recovery until 2014.

The slowdown is a mixed bag for passengers, Yamanouchi writes. The airport may be marginally less crowded — or at least no more crowded than they are used to. But as airlines pull back flights to match demand, planes are often jam-packed and fare deals can be harder to find.

Hartsfield-Jackson remains the busiest airport in the world by far, as its rivals are feeling similar slowdowns. Still, Yamanouchi writes, flat passenger traffic could trim airport revenues — parking income plummeted last summer. Already, there have been budget cuts.

Also in the AJC:

• Metro Atlanta foreclosures set new monthly record
• Commercial loan losses a rising storm
• Final Four brackets invade workplace
• Macy’s wraps up its gift-wrapping service
• More than 6,400 Georgians have loans modified

In other media:

• Financial reform bill tests Congress
• Lending squeeze thwarts small business revival
• Democratic leaders say health bill will pass
• China uses rules on global trade to its advantage