World Business Quick Take

■ AVIATION

Airbus plans flying casino

It's the world's biggest passenger plane, with a double-deck interior that can house in-flight gyms, shops and even a swimming pool. But for travelers who still have cash to spare, Airbus is in negotiations to transform its A380 superjumbo into a flying casino. "Certain clients of ours have shown their interest," said David Velupillai, marketing director at Airbus executive aviation. "The principal draw of the A380 is that it offers 50 percent more floor space than a Boeing 747, and if you plan to create something like [a casino], you have enough space." He did not identify which airlines or casino operators were interested, but said a fully equipped A380 with a casino on board could be available from 2012.



■ AUTO LOANS

US delinquencies soar

US loans that are at least two months delinquent hit a 10-year high last month, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday, signaling the continued spread of consumer weakness to beyond homes and credit cards. The firm said 0.77 percent of US prime and subprime auto asset-backed securities were more than 60 days behind on payments, with the rate jumping 12 percent from December and 44 percent from a year ago. Subprime delinquencies topped the 4 percent level for the first time since late 1997, reaching 4.03 percent last month, up 10 percent from December and 43 percent from a year earlier.



■ AVIATION

Price-fixing deal proposed

A tentative agreement by Virgin Atlantic Airways and British Airways PLC to settle civil price-fixing claims would give more than US$200 million to customers who bought tickets from either airline and who flew between Aug. 11, 2004, and March 23, 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported. The proposed settlement was presented Thursday to US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco, the newspaper reported. US and British authorities fined British Airways more than US$500 million for its role in the fuel-surcharge price-fixing case. Virgin was not fined because it came forward to expose the alleged collusion, which involved other airlines and markets, the paper said.



■ MEDIA

'NY Times' to cut 100 jobs

The New York Times is cutting 100 jobs from its newsroom this year as financial pressures mount from a weak economy and competition from the Internet. Executive editor Bill Keller told employees in a meeting on Thursday that the cuts would come mainly through attrition and buyouts, but layoffs were also possible. New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the paper has a total of 1,332 newsroom employees throughout the paper, which would make the cutbacks equivalent to nearly 8 percent of its editorial staff.



■ FINANCE

Zurich Financial profits up

Zurich Financial Services AG said on Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit rose 13.5 percent to US$1.47 billion and that it was proposing a US$2 billion share buyback. The Swiss insurance firm, which has remained virtually unaffected by the raging US subprime mortgage crisis, said net profit for the three-month period ended on Dec. 31 compared with US$1.29 billion for the same period of 2006. The company said full-year net profit for last year rose to US$5.63 billion from US$4.62 billion in 2006. Gross premiums rose to US$47.47 billion from US$46.44 billion.