of bank united, john kanas. >> nice to have you on the programme again. >> susie: let me start off with asking you. how would you describe the health of the banking system. wherther it's the super big banks or smaller banks. >> statistically they're in better shape than they were four or five years ago. all the metrics used have improved. capital is higher. reserves against non-performing loans are higher than they were in 2007. >> so in terms of sheer strength of capital they're stronger than they were. since the flagging economy is having trouble, banks are having difficulty expanding balance sheets and finding opportunitys to make loans. and so those who worry about such things worry that bank's profitability will be under pressure in the near future. >> your bank recently bought a small new york bank. do you think all the of the consolidations are good or bad for the economy? >> it just depends? >> some consolidation is essential as we go into the next decade. given the relatively slack performance of the economy. where i think consolidation will cause difficulties is in the small t

data and the core curriculum and we are planning to have a presentation from assistant superintendent kana on student achievement and discussion with richard caransa to support students and closing the achievement gap and we've invited community partners and parents to attend the meeting and there seems to be a lot of excitement about it and we're looking forward to talking about data from a parent perspective. >> and we have a few -- [inaudible] we have a few open seats in the p.a.c. and we are accepting applications and we have it in english, spanish and chinese, and pacsf.org. >> once again, i think we have questions or comments from the board members. commissioner norton? commissioner norton: did you call me? i heard you say commissioner -- thank you for the report. do you have the date and time of the meeting next week so that if people listening want to come, that they know when it is? >> the date is october 3. and i don't believe that we have a location completely certain yet. but it's october 3, early afternoon meeting and if anyone's interested, they could probably contact the p.a

we'll talk to john kanas, the president and c.e.o. of bank united, about turning the economy around by helping small business. opec is slashing its forecast for oil demand as the global economy slows. the cartel cut this year's estimate by 150,000 barrels a day, and next year's by 40,000 barrels a day. opec says the u.s. summer driving season was weaker than expected, and that the economies of many industrialized nations are slowing. opec produces a third of the world's oil supply. south wist airlines faces a 1.1 million fine over faulty repairs and kppings over 44 plains. the federal aviation administration says a contractor for the company failed to fully expect the planes for metal fat agency and did not properly install pieces that hold the aircraft skin in place. back in airport you will recall a hole was ripped open in the roof of a boeing 737 operated by southwest. the plane had to make an emergency landing. thank three all 118 people on board were okay. >> suzanne: in tonight's commentary, what's better-- a growth- or macro-fo