International

• Wednesday, May 14th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Tough competition and fuel prices knock Iberia red

  Spanish airline Iberia reported a loss in the first quarter of the year compared with a 12.9 million Euro net profit last year. Soaring fuel prices and stiff competition forced the company to a loss of 441.000 Euros.

• Tuesday, May 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  French banks take their toll from the subprime crisis

  France's biggest retail bank Credit Agricole, is contemplating asking shareholders for an estimated 9.1 billion US dollars to help its financial position after further subprime losses. The move comes after more write-downs at its Calyon investment banking unit as a result of the credit squeeze.

• Tuesday, May 13th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Heathrow T5 fiasco becomes managers mincing machine

  The London Heathrow airport boss who oversaw the opening of Terminal 5 is to leave his job, the airport's owner has said. Mark Bullock had “chosen to leave” his job as the airport's managing director because of a change to management roles, according to Spanish-owned BAA.

• Monday, May 12th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Ambitious agenda for EU/Latam summit with 53 leaders

  Peru is hosting the fifth European Union/Latinamerica/Caribbean leaders' summit and has displayed 85.000 police and Armed Forces in the capital Lima, of which 6.000 in the immediate area where deliberations will take place. The event begins next Tuesday and concludes Friday with the leaders summit.

• Monday, May 12th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  HSBC writes off U$S 3.2 billion, totaling 15.6 billion

  Europe's biggest bank HSBC has written off 3.2 billion US dollars in the first three months of 2008 as a result of its exposure to the US sub-prime market. The write downs, which are lower than the total written off in the final quarter of 2007, are in line with what the bank had predicted.

• Monday, May 12th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  World record rice production in 2008, but prices climbing

  Rice production in Asia, Africa and Latin America will reach record highs in 2008, but prices could also continue to soar in the short term, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Monday.

• Monday, May 12th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  China faces strongest inflation is almost 12 years

  China's consumer prices increased to a 12 year high in April pushed by food prices and in spite of government pledges to tackle inflation. Annual inflation rose to 8.5% from 8.3% in March with food costs 22.1% higher in April from a year earlier, driven mainly by demand for pork.

• Sunday, May 11th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Airbus and Boeing have a Chinese competitor

  China launched a company to manufacture jumbo passenger aircrafts to challenge the dominance of commercial jet giants Airbus and Boeing in the market for aircrafts with more than 150 seats.

• Saturday, May 10th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Madrid “certain” Odyssey treasure is Spanish

  Spanish experts who analysed samples of the controversial treasure raised by Odyssey Marine Exploration last summer have concluded that it came from a Spanish galleon. At a press conference in the Ministry of Culture in Madrid yesterday, Spain's US lawyer, James Goold, said Spain was “absolutely certain” that the treasure came from the 19th century warship Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.

• Friday, May 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Billiton-Rio Tinto merger could help Falklands' oil plans

  In the event of a successful takeover by BHP Billiton of Rio Tinto the new merged giant would consider selling a 1.5 billion potash project in Argentina which would facilitate developing Billiton oil and gas exploration off shore the Falkland Islands, according to reports in the Australian press.