SUBJECT: The world this week : Business 1st - 7th &NAME &NUM &WEBSITE | &NAME Email Thursday &NAME 6th &NUM &NAME now ! | E-mail & Mobile Editions | &NAME &WEBSITE Classifieds for job listings , business opportunities and more : &WEBSITE Classifieds put you in front of our audience of senior business executives , professionals , academics and other specialists . &WEBSITE Classifieds . Full contents Subscriptions Business this week &NAME 6th &NUM From &NAME print edition Heavy metal The dollar was buffeted by worries over war in &NAME ; it hit a four-year low against the euro of &NUM . The likelihood of war pushed gold prices to a seven-year high of nearly $ &NUM an ounce . Other precious metals followed &NAME ; platinum hit a 23-year high . See article : Going platinum The Bank of &NAME surprised the markets with a quarter-point cut in interest rates to &NUM &NUM / &NUM ; the first change since November &NUM . The European &NAME &NAME left rates unchanged . See article : Interest rates &NAME American International Group 's shares fell by &NUM after it announced charges of $ &NUM billion in the fourth quarter , to cover a $ &NUM billion provision for underwriting losses . The insurer blamed corporate claims for workers ' compensation , health care and company directors ' liability rather than asbestos claims , which have caused other big insurers to make similar provisions . See article : &NAME admits to big liabilities Wheeler-dealing in the late &NUM caught up with &NAME &NAME , &NAME 's notoriously bullish technology analyst . &NAME &NAME was suspended by the investment bank over ;document retention issues &NUM ; after he learnt of regulatory investigations into the ;spinning &NUM ; of hot technology offerings to favoured clients . &NAME &NAME denies any wrongdoing . &ORG paid &NUM ( $ &NUM billion ) for First National , the consumer-finance arm of Abbey &NAME . The British bank needs the cash to offset heavy losses in wholesale banking ; &NAME &NAME Finance is keen to bolster its presence in &NAME . &NAME &NAME , &NAME 's biggest bank , surprisingly ruled out a merger with &NAME &NAME . The banks have flirted with a link for years and &NAME failed in a hostile takeover in &NUM . &NAME also appears to have lost out to &NAME &NAME in the battle for &NAME &NAME , though it is still considering whether to raise its bid . A poor fourth quarter pushed &NAME to a pre-tax loss for the year of euro&NUM ( $ &NUM ) , the German bank 's first ever full-year loss . For Canal , a reshuffle &NAME &NAME 's chief executive , &NAME &NAME , kicked off a restructuring of Canal Plus , the French media conglomerate 's &NAME arm , by sacking its boss of &NUM months , &NAME Couture . &NAME Couture , appointed by &NAME 's former boss , &NAME &NAME , will be replaced by a trusted lieutenant of &NAME &NAME , &NAME &NAME . &NAME began talks with &NAME , an American private-equity firm , over the sale of part of &NAME &NAME . &NAME , which completed the purchase of the fixed-line business along with &NAME , a mobile operator , in &NUM had been expected to sell in order to concentrate on its mobile business . &NAME made a seventh consecutive quarterly loss in the final &NUM months of &NUM . The Swedish mobile-phone maker lost SKr8.3 billion ( $ &NUM ) after a slump in demand for telecoms equipment . &NAME also chose &NAME &NAME , currently boss of &NAME &NAME , a lockmaker , as its new chief executive , sending its shares sharply higher . &NAME , &NAME 's most valuable public company a year ago , announced a loss of $ &NUM in the fourth quarter , taking losses for the year to $ &NUM billion . The drug company is undergoing a big restructuring after its share price collapsed , the result of some questionable new products and dubious accounting practices . Despite a big decline in tech spending , &NAME Systems made a record profit of $ &NUM in the quarter to the end of January . The networking-equipment firm has benefited from falling component prices , coupled with aggressive cost-cutting . But &NAME gave warning that revenues would probably decline in the next quarter too . &NAME off &NAME 's acquisition of &NAME , a rival low-cost airline , for a bargain euro&NUM ( $ &NUM ) from &NAME &NAME Dutch will come at the heavy cost of a big restructuring of the loss-making no-frills operation and an &NUM cut in &NAME 's workforce . The airline pilots ' union threatened strikes ; &NAME countered with a threat to close &NAME , if necessary . &NUM months after filing for Chapter &NUM bankruptcy protection , United Airlines reported a loss of $ &NUM billion for the fourth quarter of &NUM . This shows the scale of the task facing the airline as it negotiates with unions and attempts to cut aircraft-leasing charges to return to solvency . &ORG called for annual wage cuts totalling $ &NUM billion to curb losses of some $ &NUM a day as the airline teeters on the brink of bankruptcy . It is also seeking savings of $ &NUM billion a year through changes to its schedules and fleet . 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