Business News - AFP

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Inflation in the 15 countries sharing the euro came off record highs in August, offering an increasingly rare ray of light as the threat of recession looms, official EU data showed on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US consumers snapped shut wallets as a boost from tax rebates wore off and inflation soared in July, government data showed Friday in what could be a bad omen for an economy dependent on consumer spending.

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian Airlines (AUA) Friday dismissed suggestions that it favoured Germany's Lufthansa as its potential buyer, insisting it is "neutral" with regard to its various suitors.

PARIS (AFP) - Shareholders in French investment bank Natixis on Friday approved a planned 3.7 billion euros (5.44 billion dollars) capital increase to repair the damage caused by the US subprime home loan crisis.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - German insurance giant Allianz is in "advanced talks" on the future of its Dresdner Bank unit, "that may or may not lead to a deal," it said Friday in a brief statement to financial markets.

LONDON (AFP) - British automaker Land Rover, recently taken over by Indian industrial giant Tata, told its employees Friday it will scale back production in light of an economic slowdown and the credit crunch.

WARSAW (AFP) - Thousands of workers belonging to Poland's historic Solidarity trade union staged a massive protest in Warsaw Friday, demanding wage hikes and pension privileges for public sector workers.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Colombian authorities have confiscated fake euro banknotes with a face value of 11 million euros, the biggest-ever such seizure outside Europe, policing agency Europol said Friday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices lost steam Friday as traders watched a deadly storm churning toward the Gulf of Mexico, threatening US oil and gas operations.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US economy outpaced expectations as surging exports fueled a second-quarter growth spurt at a 3.3 percent pace, according to data Thursday that analysts say makes recession less likely.

ROME (AFP) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that a rescue plan put together for near bankrupt flag carrier Alitalia means the company will remain Italian, as he had promised at polls in April.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's core inflation rate accelerated to 2.4 percent in July on the back of soaring energy and raw material costs, official data showed on Friday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices reversed course and fell sharply Thursday as traders discounted the impact of Tropical Storm Gustav as it churned toward the Gulf of Mexico's energy installations.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission warned Thursday it had mobile telephone operators that overcharge users in its sights after finding some companies were rounding up call durations to bill customers more.

NEW YORK (AFP) - French spirits giant Pernod Ricard sealed an agreement Thursday for US distribution of its newly acquired Absolut vodka brand starting October 1.

TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday slashed its 2009 sales forecast due to slowing demand, putting off its goal of becoming the world's first automaker to sell more than 10 million vehicles in a year.

OTTAWA (AFP) - Low-cost transatlantic carrier Zoom Airlines cancelled all of its flights and suspended its operations on Thursday, blaming a "horrendous" and "unprecedented rise in the price of aviation fuel."

FRANKFURT (AFP) - The supervisory boards of giant German insurer Allianz and its subsidiary Dresdner Bank will meet Sunday to mull the bank's future, sources said Thursday, with a decision set to reshape the country's banking sector.

NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar was generally firm Thursday, getting modest support from better-than-expected US growth figures which suggested that fears of a US recession may have been overblown.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday as Tropical Storm Gustav risked becoming a hurricane once more, threatening key US energy production and refinery facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, traders said.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission launched an anti-trust probe on Friday into a recent agreement between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia to cooperate on transatlantic flights.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday as Tropical Storm Gustav risked becoming a hurricane once more and threatening US energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - German insurance giant Allianz is in "advanced talks" on the future of its Dresdner Bank unit, "that may or may not lead to a deal," it said Friday in a brief statement to financial markets.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US consumer spending cooled sharply and personal incomes fell in July as the stimulus of tax rebates wore off and inflation mounted, the Commerce Department said Friday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US consumer spending rose 0.2 percent in July from June, while personal income slid 0.7 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's government announced an economic stimulus package worth more than 100 billion dollars Friday to tackle the fastest inflation in a decade and the looming threat of a recession.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday as Tropical Storm Gustav risked becoming a hurricane once more and threatening energy production in the Gulf of Mexico, home to US refineries.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - The board of German insurer Allianz will probably recommend its Dresdner Bank unit be sold to Commerzbank, press reports said on Friday.