IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Porsche may cut debt

Porsche SE must trim debt before the sports-car maker and Volkswagen AG can complete a merger, Volkswagen Supervisory Board Chairman Ferdinand Piech (above) said.

"Volkswagen won't solve" Porsche's net debt, which tripled in six months to 9 billion euros ($12.3 billion) as of Jan 31, Piech told reporters at a presentation of the fifth-generation Polo subcompact in Sardinia, Italy. "That's very logical," Piech said. "I can't imagine that Volkswagen will shoulder someone else's risk."