IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Airline 'exploited'

Alitalia has been "exploited" by politicians for too long and could not continue in its present state, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa (above), Italy's economy minister, told a newspaper, defending the decision to pave the way for a deal with Air France-KLM.

The Italian government, which holds a 49.9 percent stake in the carrier, last week approved Alitalia pursuing talks with Air France-KLM. The decision sparked an outcry from unions and politicians who want the airline to remain in Italian hands.

Meeting sought

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has summoned the heads of the six foreign oil companies that control the Kashagan oil field to a meeting on January 11, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The newspaper said it had seen a letter sent to the partners, inviting them to a meeting with Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Masimov at which the deadlock over the field may be broken.

Israeli talks

International Business Machines Corp is in advanced talks to buy Israeli start-up XIV Information Systems for $300 million to $350 million, financial daily Globes reported on Monday.

XIV officials declined to comment.

According to Globes, XIV has developed a system that replaces conventional storage technologies through the use of grid technology and less expensive hardware.

Strategic relationship

Merrill Lynch and Dutch insurer Aegon NV said on Monday that they finalized a deal to form a strategic relationship, and that Aegon completed its acquisition of Merrill's life insurance units.

Aegon paid $1.25 billion in cash for Merrill Lynch Life Insurance Co and ML Life Insurance Co of New York, the companies said in a statement. The deal was announced in August.

Edging up

The pace of existing US home sales edged up in November to a 5 million-unit annual rate and the median price fell from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors said on Monday.

The trade group also urged the US Federal Reserve to slash interest rates by as much as three-quarters of a percentage point in January as a way to embolden home buyers. Most economists expect a quarter-point cut at the central bank's January meeting.

Vietnamese growth

Vietnam's economy expanded this year at the fastest pace since 1996, led by manufacturing and services, after the Southeast Asian country joined the World Trade Organization.

Gross domestic product increased 8.5 percent in 2007 after rising 8.2 percent last year, the General Statistics Office said in a statement in Hanoi. That was the quickest since the economy grew 9.3 percent 11 years ago.

Lender slides

London Scottish Bank Plc, the UK lender to customers with poor credit histories, fell the most in a decade in London trading after saying it will take a charge of as much as 22 million pounds to cover losses.

A surge in unpaid consumer loans forced the bank to increase impairment provisions, it said in a statement. The UK Financial Services Authority has also required the company to increase its capital base, leading to a 13 million-pound shortfall, London Scottish said.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/02/2008 page17)