Business News - AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved a 3.65-billion-dollar loan to Turkey, the final segment of a three-year stand-by credit worth nearly 10 billion dollars.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US trade deficit shrank more than expected in March to 58.2 billion dollars, as imports fell sharply and as the weak dollar continued to underpin exports, a government survey showed Friday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Citigroup, reeling from the subprime mortgage crisis, said Friday it plans to sell roughly 400 billion dollars in assets in a streamlining reorganization aimed at restoring the US banking giant to profit.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Microsoft on Friday lodged an appeal at a European court against a record 899 million euro (1.39 billion dollar) fine imposed on it by the EU Commission for defying a landmark anti-trust ruling.

DUBLIN (AFP) - Diageo, the alcoholic beverages giant, said on Friday it planned to overhaul its Guinness operations in Ireland to cut costs and boost production of its distinctive black stout.

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's industry minister confirmed Friday he is blocking the sale of leading space firm MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates to a US defense contractor, saying it provided no net benefit to Canada.

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - Heinrich von Pierer, former Siemens chief and supervisory board president, will not face penal charges in connection with a vast corruption scandal at the German engineering giant, prosecutors in southern Munich said in a statement on Friday.

BUDAPEST (AFP) - The Danish government expects to decide within two months on the date of a referendum on joining the eurozone, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said during a visit to Hungary on Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - State-owned French power company EDF has submitted an offer for nuclear power operator British Energy, the BBC reported Friday on its website.

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela's proven crude oil reserves had swelled to 130 billion barrels as of late April, marking a rise of 30 billion from its prior estimate, energy and oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday.

ATHENS (AFP) - European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet stressed again Thursday that inflation was a longer term problem for the 15-nation eurozone and said people should get used to higher energy prices.

BERLIN (AFP) - German industrial output and exports fell in March, data showed Thursday, as a stronger euro, weaker global demand and high raw material prices left their mark on Europe's largest economy.

LONDON (AFP) - The Bank of England on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged at 5.0 percent, ruling out a back-to-back cut to help stimulate economic growth as inflation remains high amid surging oil prices, analysts said.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Crude oil prices surged to new highs above 123 dollars Thursday in volatile trade after the OPEC cartel insisted the market was well-supplied and being driven by speculators.

TOKYO (AFP) - Toyota Motor Corp. warned Thursday it expects the first drop in annual profits in nine years because of a weak US economy, a stronger yen and soaring raw material costs.

DUBAI (AFP) - Qatar Airways will seek cash compensation from Boeing Co over a delay in the delivery of its 787 Dreamliner, the press quoted its chief executive as saying Thursday.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Consumers are getting ripped off by misleading information for airline tickets sold online, the EU's top consumer protection official said Thursday, promising a crackdown if the industry fails to clean up its act.

OTTAWA (AFP) - US retail behemoth Wal-Mart said Thursday it will add or expand 25 to 27 stores in Canada in the coming months, and hire 6,000 new employees -- soon topping 300 stores in this country.

NAIROBI (AFP) - Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola on Thursday announced it would invest 50 million dollars in its five franchises in Kenya, where post-election violence adversely affected the firm.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Financial market turbulence has led to a tightening of eurozone credit standards, particularly for loans to big companies, the European Central Bank said on Friday.

SEOUL (AFP) - Thousands of protesters rallied in the South Korean capital Friday to denounce the decision to resume US beef imports as the government struggled to dispel a growing scare over mad cow disease.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices hit a record high above 126 dollars on Friday, driven into uncharted territory by speculative interest amid concerns about tight global energy supplies, analysts said.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Citigroup, the US bank hardest hit by the subprime mortgage crisis, said Friday it plans to slash its assets by some 400 billion dollars over the next two to three years.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US trade deficit shrank more than expected in March to 58.2 billion dollars, as the weak dollar boosted exports and as imports fell sharply, a government survey showed Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - The price of New York crude oil soared above 126 dollars per barrel on Friday, lifted by speculative demand amid concerns about tight global energy supplies, analysts said.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices hit a record high above 126 dollars on Friday, driven into uncharted territory by speculative interest amid concerns about tight global energy supplies, analysts said.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices hit a record high above 126 dollars on Friday, driven by speculative interest amid concerns about tight global energy supplies, analysts said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US trade deficit shrank to 58.2 billion dollars in March from a revised 61.7 billion a month earlier, as the weak dollar fueled a surge in exports, the Commerce Department said Friday.