■ DisclosureWEF head resigns
The World Economic Forum (WEF) said its chief executive, Jose Maria Figueres, quit after admitting that he broke the organization's rules covering disclosure of outside interests. Figueres, who was president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998, failed to inform the forum that he received consulting fees of US$906,355 from November 1999 to October last year, the organization said. A spokesman for the forum, which is the host of an annual meeting of business and government leaders in the Swiss Alps, said Figueres' resignation was not linked to bribery-related allegations made in Costa Rica.
■ Macroeconomics
Canada's GDP inches up
Driven by strong growth in manufacturing and retailing, Canada's gross domestic product increased 0.5 percent during August, Statistics Canada said. The rise followed a 0.2 percent increase a month earlier. The government agency said that manufacturing activity rose 1 percent, partly because of a 3.8 percent increase in automotive production and a 2.1 percent rise in the manufacturing of car and truck parts. Retailing was up 1.1 percent, helped by sales of new and used autos and auto parts and services.
■ Automakers
Mitsubishi, Nissan eye deal
Scandal-hit Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors plans to jointly develop and manufacture mini vehicles with Nissan Motor, public television network NHK reported on Thursday. The report said Mitsubishi, reeling from defect cover-ups and sagging sales, is considering forming in April next year a 50-50 joint venture with Nissan, the second-largest carmaker in Japan and which is controlled by Renault of France, to develop mini vehicles. Mitsubishi is in talks with Nissan to produce mini vehicles under Nissan's brand name at Mitsubishi's Mizushima plant in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan, NHK said, quoting sources involved in the talks. The two firms are also considering shifting a total of 4,500 employees to the new company to jointly manufacture mini vehicles in the future, NHK said. Spokesmen at Mitsubishi and Nissan said they were unable to confirm the report. Mitsubishi, the fourth-largest carmaker in Japan, and its truck-making affiliate are struggling to recover lost business after admitting to defect cover-ups which forced it to conduct massive vehicle recalls this year.
■ Conglomerate
Snecma, Sagem to merge
French electronic equipment maker Sagem SA and state-controlled aircraft engine maker Snecma said on Friday they plan to merge in a US$5.7 billion deal that will create a new aerospace, defense and telecom-munications group. Sagem chairman Mario Colaiacovo and Snecma's chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Bechat presented the plan separately to their boards on Thursday, both companies said. The tie-up would lead to the privatization of Snecma, in which the government still holds a controlling stake after selling off just over one-third of its capital in an initial public offering earlier this year. France's finance and defense ministers, Nicolas Sarkozy and Michele Alliot-Marie, welcomed the deal. As Snecma's biggest shareholder, the government will "examine with interest" the terms of Sagem's offer, the ministers said.
■ RestructuringShanghai assets for sale
Shanghai is selling off assets of more than 40 state-owned companies, including electronics firms, a hotel and a stake in a major brokerage, hoping to bring in more foreign financing and expertise, the city says. According to the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, a combined 6.1 billion yuan (US$734 million) in state-owned assets were put on sale this week, including 32 companies owned by Shanghai Electric (Group) Corp, the country's biggest industrial equipment maker. China is keeping majority stakes in many strategic industries. But the government is encouraging the sale of small and medium-sized state-owned companies to help finance the reform of inefficient state enterprises -- relics of decades of communist-style central planning. Foreign acquisitions of some companies are also being sought as a way to gain international managerial expertise and advanced technology.
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