IN BRIEF (Page 17)

'No strings attached'

Germany has assured GM and the Opel Trust that its 4.5 billion euros ($6.70 billion) offer in financial aid for Opel is not tied to the choice of an investor or a plan, a European Commission spokesman said.

The commission said last week that there were significant indications that the promised aid was subject to a pre-condition that Magna and Sberbank was selected to buy Opel, in breach of strict EU state aid and internal market rules.