IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Oil passes $118

Crude oil rose to a record above $118 a barrel on concern that a labor dispute in the United Kingdom and supply disruptions in Nigeria may crimp oil availability.

Oil rose to $118.05 a barrel in New York as unions planned to strike at a Scottish refinery that receives shipments of a benchmark crude oil from the North Sea. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said 169,000 barrels a day were suspended because of attacks last week in Africa's largest producer.

Libyan accord

OAO Gazprom is negotiating the details of an accord with Eni SpA to jointly develop a natural gas project in Libya, Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev told Corriere della Sera.

"We have bought a part of Germany's BASF's assets and are now working with Eni on an agreement" that will have to be approved by the Libyan government, Medvedev told the Italian newspaper.

Alfa Laval gains

Alfa Laval AB, the world's largest maker of heat exchangers, rose the most in six months in Stockholm trading after it said first-quarter profit jumped 94 percent, beating analyst estimates.

Alfa advanced as much as 7.9 percent to 388 kronor, the biggest increase since Oct 23, and was trading at 383 kronor as of 1:52 pm local time.

Coach bags profit

Coach Inc, the largest US maker of luxury leather handbags, posted third-quarter profit that rose more than analysts estimated, helped by a 20 percent sales gain at namesake stores in North America.

Net income increased to $162.4 million, or 46 cents a share, from $150 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier.

Agencies

(China Daily 04/23/2008 page17)