I'm sure, like me, you spend most of your waking hours speculating as to why it is that Boeing is doing so much better than Airbus. Of course, to a large extent it has to do with the weakness of the dollar and with the spectacular governance near-meltdown of EADS, Airbus's parent company.

But don't underestimate the power of government intervention. There is of course the thorny issue of who pisses highest (or lowest) on the subsidies wall (see also here and here).

And then there's all that military revenue...

According to a quick back of the envelope calculation ('defence and security' revenue as a percentage of Airbus revenue according to EADS's annual report (pdf)), about 18% of Airbus's revenue comes from military spending. On the other hand, fully 50% of Boeing revenue comes from their military wing (so to speak). Of that 90% comes from the US government.

So 45% of Boeing's revenue comes directly from the American taxpayer through the military. Unlike in Europe, the bombs game in America really is a state spending success story at the moment. So, if you want to know why these sorts of businesses do so well, and why Boeing is whupping Airbus, spare a thought for Iraq.