■FINANCE
UK prioritizes PRC ties
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling pledged to further strengthen ties between London and Beijing at a Britain-China economic summit later yesterday. Darling, in a comment piece in the Times newspaper, said the two countries had to do more to push an agreement reached at last month’s G20 summit in London, promote ties between the two financial markets, enhance trade links and tie economic growth to environmental sustainability. “Thousands of jobs, now and in the future, depend on it,” Darling wrote ahead of the summit in London.
■AVIATION
UK air traffic down
BAA Ltd, owner of London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, said traffic declined for a 13th consecutive month as the recession curbed demand for air travel. Passenger numbers at BAA’s seven British airports fell 2.3 percent to 11.5 million last month from a year earlier, London-based BAA, owned by Spanish builder Grupo Ferrovial SA, said in a statement yesterday. Traffic is declining as airlines including British Airways Plc and Air France-KLM Group cut capacity to match falling demand for flights. BAA, which reported a first-quarter loss of £228.8 million (US$348 million) at its three London airports on May 5, said the “outlook remains challenging.”
■FINLAND
Recession hits exports
The country had a trade deficit in March, the second this year, as the global recession hurt exports. The deficit was 20 million euros (US$27.3 million), compared with a revised surplus of 35 million euros the month before and 165 million euros a year earlier, Helsinki-based Finnish Customs said on its Web site yesterday, citing preliminary figures. The country’s 15 years of average monthly surpluses of at least 400 million euros have eroded since last summer, pushing the country to near balance as world trade sputters. Exports plunged 32 percent to 3.82 billion euros in March from a year earlier, while imports declined 29 percent to 3.84 billion euros.
■SHIPPING
Philippine firm seeks loan
International Container Terminal Services Inc, the Philippines’ largest port operator, is in talks with banks to obtain a three-year loan to help it refinance debt early, the company’s treasurer said. “We are looking to refinance US$150 million and hoping to achieve a three-year maturity,” Rafael Consing said in a cellphone message yesterday. “We are in discussions with potential lenders for early refinancing of our debt due 2010.” The Manila-based company, which has terminals in 10 other countries including China, has US$589 million in outstanding debt.
■CHINA
Inflation weakens
China’s inflation weakened further last month, with the consumer price index falling 1.5 percent from a year ago, the government said yesterday. Compared with a month earlier, the index, the main gauge of inflation, was down 0.2 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The continued decline in consumer prices comes as China struggles with the most serious economic slowdown in nearly two decades. The deflation reflects the weaknesses in the economy over the past six months, Standard Chartered’s China economist Stephen Green said. “At the moment, we are only in the midst of a very gradual U-shaped recovery. So that will have probably gradual effects on prices,” Green said, adding that he expected prices to be flat by the end of the year.
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