Financial cost of Tuesday's terrorist attacks certainly in billions.(Chicago Tribune)

The financial cost of the attack on the World Trade Center is sure to run into many billions of dollars. The losses due to property damage in Manhattan will be known soon, said Jay Mueller, an economist at Strong Capital Management, but "the cost of interruption of business will take a month to three months to be known."

Some effects of the week's events _ whether it frightens consumers into curtailing spending, for example _ won't become apparent until companies report their financial results at the end of the year.

Here is a brief look at how different sectors of the economy will be affected by the worst terrorist incident in the nation's history.

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AIRLINES

Expected losses: The International Air Transport Association said airlines have already lost $10 billion in ticket revenues after being grounded Tuesday and only now are resuming operations.

Analysts expect the airlines will have to spend heavily to meet new security requirements at a time when demand for air travel will be low, adding to the industry's losses.

Prospects for recovery: Analysts are pessimistic, saying that if the airline industry resorts to cut-rate fares to lure leisure …