(11-27) 17:33 PST Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) —

Homeowners demonstrated outside Countrywide Financial offices Tuesday, demanding the mortgage giant help them avoid foreclosure.

The Mabuhay Alliance, Greenlining Institute and Mexican American Political Association organized the afternoon rally that drew about 60 people in Santa Ana, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. Similar demonstrations are planned in coming weeks.

The groups want Countrywide to stop foreclosure proceedings on borrowers who are behind in payments and modify adjustable rate mortgage loans that are about to reset to higher payments. They are also asking executives at the company to donate money from bonuses toward a fund for at-risk borrowers.

“These people gamed the system,” said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association. “They continued this game knowing full well that they were bringing borrowers into a market that was turning belly up.”

Countrywide said Tuesday about 750 of its Orange County customers will lose their homes to foreclosure by the end of 2007. About 16,000 of customers statewide will foreclose in the same period, the company said.

“Countrywide is ready, willing and able to help borrowers facing financial distress,” Countrywide said in a statement. “The company has numerous effective programs to assist borrowers who have the willingness and wherewithal to remain in their homes.”

Last month, the company announced it would offer refinancing or modifications on $16 billion in loans with interest rates set to adjust by the end of 2008. Officials have also said they are trying to work out payment plans with borrowers on some 80,000 loans and have already helped more than 55,000 others avoid foreclosure this year.

The company posted a loss of $1.2 billion during the quarter ended Sept. 30, its first quarterly loss in 25 years.

Shares of Countrywide rose 33 cents, or nearly 4 percent, to $8.97 on Tuesday.

As Heathrow Terminal Five (T5) recovers from go-live glitches in its baggage handling systems, air travel IT specialist Sita has released research showing 42.4 million bags are lost in airports across the world.

According to the fourth annual Sita Baggage Report, RFID is a key technology for solving baggage handling headaches, estimated to be costing the global air travel industry $3.8bn a year. It said RFID bag tagging could make the industry a saving of $700m a year.

Sita CEO Fransesco Volante said in a statement: “It is important that we continue to move towards a comprehensive, fully integrated global baggage management system that can direct, track and trace passenger baggage throughout the entire journey.”

Baggage mishandling was the largest cause of delay in reuniting passengers with their luggage (49 per cent of cases). Historically, this is an improvement, down from 61 per cent of cases in 2005.

However, a spokesman for British Airways, the major stakeholder in T5, cast doubt on the efficacy of RFID tagging as a solution to baggage handling problems at the present time.

He said: “RFID hasn’t been trialled on any systems large enough to equate with baggage handling on a global scale. Barcoding is being used and it works. At T5, the problem wasn’t with the luggage tags. BA will watch with interest the development of RFID but for the moment we will continue to use barcodes on our baggage tags, which—with a modern system—is very effective for baggage being checked-in at an airport.”

- The World’s Most Innovative Companies
2006 Rank Company Margin Growth
1995-2005
% Stock Returns
1995-2005
%
1 «host.businessweek.com» 7.1 24.6
2 «host.businessweek.com» NA** NA**
3 «host.businessweek.com» 3.4 11.2
4 «host.businessweek.com» 10.7 11.8
5 «host.businessweek.com» 2.0 18.5
6 «host.businessweek.com» 5.7 13.4
7 «host.businessweek.com» 4.4 12.6
8 Nokia 0.0 34.6
9 «host.businessweek.com» 2.2 27.6
10 «host.businessweek.com» -0.7 14.4
11 Virgin NA** NA**
12 Samsung -4.5*** 22.7
13 «host.businessweek.com» -11.0 5.1
14 «host.businessweek.com» 2.0 39.4
15 IDEO NA** NA**
16 BMW 9.1 14.2
17 «host.businessweek.com» -0.3 13.8
18 «host.businessweek.com» 13.0*** NA**
19 IKEA NA** NA**
20 «host.businessweek.com» 1.9 16.2
21 «host.businessweek.com» 25.0*** NA**
22 «host.businessweek.com» 7.4 25.2
23 Honda 8.0 12.9
24 «host.businessweek.com» 57.0*** NA**
25 «host.businessweek.com» -0.1 13.9
26 Porsche NA** 33.1
27 «host.businessweek.com» 5.7 29.3
28 «host.businessweek.com» -2.2 15.2
29 «host.businessweek.com» 0.0 10.7
30 «host.businessweek.com» 0.7 3.8
31 DaimlerChrysler 4.8*** -1.8
32 Infosys 3.0*** 73.6
33 Ryanair 2.7 28.4
34 «host.businessweek.com» 24.2 13.8
35 SonyEricsson NA** NA**
36 «host.businessweek.com» 4.1 36.6
37 «host.businessweek.com» -2.1 27.4
38 Tesco -0.3 16.2
39 Danone 4.7 13.3
40 BP -0.2 12.3
41 «host.businessweek.com» 4.9 10.2
42 «host.businessweek.com» -6.6 7.1
43 «host.businessweek.com» -3.7 2.9
44 «host.businessweek.com» NA** 0.9
45 W.L. Gore & Associates NA** NA**
46 Skype Technologies NA** NA**
47 «host.businessweek.com» 4.3 18.9
48 Bang & Olufsen 2.4 16.3
49 Renault 23.7 14.8
50 L’Oreal 2.3 14.2
51 «host.businessweek.com» 5.8 13.6
52 Siemens 2.0*** 12.6
53 «host.businessweek.com» 3.6 12.6
54 Shell 2.4 11.0
55 «host.businessweek.com» 1.8 9.9
56 Singapore Airlines -5.8 7.7
57 Nissan 30.2 5.4
58 «host.businessweek.com» -1.8 4.9
59 Zara NA** NA**
60 «host.businessweek.com» NA** -24.6
61 «host.businessweek.com» NA** 42.9
62 Macquarie Bank NA** 35.0
63 Audi 9.2 30.1
64 «host.businessweek.com» 7.1 22.3
65 «host.businessweek.com» 1.1 22.0
66 Volvo -2.7 17.1
67 Philips Electronics 3*** 16.2
68 ING Bank 3.0 15.7
69 Nestle 1.2*** 13.9
70 «host.businessweek.com» 0.1 7.6
71 Matsushita Electric Industrial -1.4 3.9
72 easyJet 0.0*** 3.7
73 «host.businessweek.com» 3.4 3.6
74 «host.businessweek.com» 1.3 2.4
75 Cirque du Soleil (tied) NA** NA**
75 McKinsey (tied) NA** NA**
75 Woolworths (tied) 5.6*** NA**
78 Hutchison Telecommunications NA** 88.1
79 «host.businessweek.com» NA** 58.4
80 ACS NA** 35.1
81 ITC NA** 25.4
82 «host.businessweek.com» 8.1 22.3
83 «host.businessweek.com» 2.7 21.7
84 «host.businessweek.com» 1.7 20.7
85 LG Electronics NA** 19.1
86 bankinter NA** 18.3
87 «host.businessweek.com» -0.3 18.2
88 «host.businessweek.com» 0.3 17.5
89 «host.businessweek.com» NA** 16.3
90 SAP 1.3 15.7
91 SK Telecom 1.5 15.7
92 «host.businessweek.com» 4.3 14.9
93 LVMH -2.6*** 12.3
94 «host.businessweek.com» -1.7 11.6
95 Unilever 5.0*** 11.2
96 «host.businessweek.com» -4.9*** 10.9
97 «host.businessweek.com» -1.1 8.9
98 «host.businessweek.com» 2.0 7.2
99 Entel NA** 6.2
100 «host.businessweek.com» -2.4 5.2

* Insufficient data ** Based on fewer than 10 years of data 2006 RANK: In the 2006 rankings, we broke ties by comparing 10-year annualized total shareholder returns between 1995 and 2005. In ties between a public and a private company, the public company was favored. MARGIN GROWTH: Annualized based on 1995-2005 fiscal year earnings before interest and taxes as percent of revenues. STOCK RETURNS: Annualized, Dec. 29, 1995 to Dec. 30, 2005, price appreciation and dividends. DATA: Analysis and data provided in collaboration with the innovation practice of The Boston Consulting Group. Also, Standard & Poor’s Compustat data and company reports.