IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Russian orders

MAN AG, Europe's third-largest commercial-vehicle maker, said it won two contracts to provide 4,700 heavy trucks to Russian customers, a day after the company opened a Moscow sales office.

MAN will deliver 2,000 trucks to JSC TransCreditBank and 2,700 vehicles to MIB Group by the beginning of next year, the Munich-based company said in a statement yesterday.

Gloomy forecast

British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey Plc said its 2008 results would be at the lower end of its expectations based on current market conditions in Britain and the United States, hitting its stock yesterday.

"Market conditions in the UK have weakened since we reported our preliminary results (on March 6), with first-time buyers and investors facing particular difficulties as a result of the increasingly restricted availability of mortgages," the company said.

Softening stance

Silvio Berlusconi gave further signs yesterday of softening his resistance to an Air France-KLM tie-up with Alitalia, saying he would "be happy" to discuss such a possibility with his French counterpart, Italian news agencies reported.

The incoming Italian premier also said he would meet with members of the outgoing government next week to discuss various options for Alitalia, the Italian news agencies ANSA and Apcom reported.

European stocks slip

European stocks dropped for the first time in three days yesterday. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 314.38 at 1:11 pm in London, reversing gains of as much as 0.5 percent.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.4 percent, while MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.1 percent.

Zodiac rises

Zodiac SA, a supplier of escape chutes and seats to Airbus SAS and Boeing Co, rose the most in two months in Paris trading after the company said it expects to make a large purchase soon.

Zodiac jumped as much as 1.95 euros, or 6.5 percent, to 32 euros, in the biggest increase since Feb 12, and was up 5.8 percent as of 1:32 pm yesterday.

US jobless claims up

More Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week, bringing the total number receiving benefits to an almost 4-year high, a sign the labor market continues to weaken.

Initial applications for unemployment insurance increased by 17,000 to 372,000 in the week that ended April 12, the Labor Department said yesterday.

Agencies

(China Daily 04/18/2008 page17)