IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Refiners say sorry

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, two of Australia's four crude-oil refiners, apologized in Sunday newspapers for shortages of gasoline in the Sydney region amid accusations of unwarranted price increases.

Shell's V-Power, 95-octane unleaded and premium unleaded gasoline have been unavailable "for some weeks" in New South Wales because of the shutdown of a refinery unit, the company said yesterday in the Sun-Herald. BP cited production issues at local refineries and constraints on imports for an "unprecedented level" of fuel supply shortages.

EADS veto examined

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co's biggest investors will consider alternatives to giving Germany and France "golden-share" veto rights over foreign takeovers, the Financial Times reported, citing Chairman Ruediger Grube.

The power to stop takeovers should reside with the company's biggest investors, Grube told the newspaper.

The French government, Lagardere SCA and Germany's Daimler AG are among the biggest shareholders, the FT added.

Separate firm

Airbus SAS plans to bundle some of its German factories into a separate company that may be sold at a later date, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

The company would include plants in Nordenham, Varel and possibly its parent company European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Co's factory in Augsburg, near Munich, the newspaper said, citing the unnamed individuals. A sale to Bremen-based OHB Technology AG has fallen through as the company could not raise financing, Sueddeutsche said.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/25/2008 page17)