SUBJECT: The world this week : Business 4th - 10th January &NUM &WEBSITE | &NAME Email Thursday January 9th &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 9th &NUM From &NAME print edition &NAME &NAME As &NAME 's banks met to review a cost-cutting programme at the struggling Italian company 's car unit , rumours emerged of a plan to spin off &NAME &NAME to raise capital for the carmaker . &NAME &NAME , a serial fixer of broken Italian companies , is preparing a rival rescue . The role of &NAME , which owns &NUM of the car company and could be forced to buy the rest next year , is unclear . See article : A saviour for &NAME ? &NAME responded to the launch of the latest &NAME by unveiling a competitor . The new model , sporting a &NAME badge and featuring a huge &NAME engine , will go into production only if it arouses interest from buyers . The last &NAME &NAME hit the market during the &NAME &NAME . Business for the world 's airlines has improved a little , according to the International Air &NAME Association : losses in &NUM added up to $ &NUM billion , compared with $ &NUM billion in &NUM , and passenger numbers are forecast to rise this year . However , a soft landing is some way off : &NAME &NAME Dutch Airlines issued a second profits warning in &NUM weeks , and &NAME said revenues would not rise this year . &NAME in the east &NAME &NAME 's long-standing aim of broadcasting to &NAME came a little closer . &NAME 's government agreed that &NAME &NAME 's &NAME TV should be allowed to beam its Mandarin entertainment channel , &NAME &NAME , to posher hotels and foreign residents ' compounds . &NAME TV , &NUM owned by &NAME &NAME 's News Corp , won similar access for its news channel . &NAME &NAME shocked investors by quitting suddenly as chief executive of &NAME &NAME because of ;irreconcilable differences '' with the board . &NAME &NAME , who masterminded the mega-merger in &NUM of &NAME and &NAME , will be replaced by an American , &NAME &NAME . See article : Controversy in the mining business International Steel Group , forged from the remains of bankrupt &NAME , offered $ &NUM billion for &NAME &NAME , itself in Chapter &NUM bankruptcy . If the offer is approved by the courts , the deal will create &NAME 's biggest steelmaker and give &NAME a high-grade steelmaking business to add to its operations . See article : Surprising progress in &NAME 's steel industry &NAME 's attempts to consolidate its American drink-distribution business after its joint purchase , with &NAME 's &NAME &NAME , of &NAME 's &NAME could land it in court . &NAME , a rival , says that the British firm 's attempt to cut it out of distribution in &NAME breaks both state law and a previous agreement with &NAME . &NAME &NAME , &NAME 's fifth-largest supermarket chain , agreed to pay &NUM billion ( $ &NUM billion ) for the fourth-largest , &NAME . The merged company will be better placed to compete with &NAME 's big &NUM : &NAME , &NAME and &NAME 's. &NAME &NAME became the new chief executive of &NAME , an Irish drug company that saw its fortunes dive after coming under investigation by &NAME 's Securities and &NAME Commission for accounting irregularities . &NAME &NAME 's lack of experience in the industry stimulated speculation about a break-up of the firm . Breaking the pact The &ORG issued warnings to those big &NAME member states , &NAME , &NAME and &NAME , under the stability and growth pact , for their excessive budget deficits . Its harshest criticism was aimed at &NAME , which is likely to breach the pact 's ceiling for deficits of &NUM of &NAME both in &NUM and &NUM . &NAME may face sanctions , including possible fines , if it does not rein in its deficit . See article : German reform prospects The &ORG formally launched an investigation into a plan by the French government to rescue &NAME &NAME through the provision of loans to the tune of euro9 billion ( $ &NUM billion ) . &NAME launched &NAME &NAME attempted to shore up its business after big losses in investment banking and insurance . &NAME announced the sale of &NAME , its clearance unit , to &NAME of &NAME &NAME for $ &NUM billion as part of the Swiss company 's retreat from non-core activities . &NAME 's fledgling capitalists seem to have got the hang of western-style business practices quickly . A government investigation of some &NUM firms found many instances of poor corporate governance , inaccurate accounting , inflated profits and the like . On the bright side , a probe of the firms ' auditors concluded that ;overall quality is improving &NUM ; . Oil strike &NAME called an emergency meeting to discuss increasing production quotas as oil prices stayed over $ &NUM a barrel , above the cartel 's $ &NUM target range . Fears of a war in &NAME have forced prices up ; a strike in &NAME has worsened the problem . CITIES GUIDE ALERTS : Travel with intelligence &WEBSITE 's Cities Guide alerts provide monthly updates containing valuable information on your favourite destination , including news , features , a calendar of cultural events , new restaurant reviews and more . Written by &NAME correspondents for the business traveller , &NAME &NAME alerts are a valuable resource for your next trip . Cities include &NAME , &NAME &NAME , &NAME , &NAME &NAME , &NAME , &NAME , &NAME city , &NAME , &NAME &NAME , &NAME , &NAME &NAME , &NAME &NAME , &NAME , &NAME , &NAME , &NAME , &NAME , and &NAME . &WEBSITE &NAME Guide alerts . Give yourself a competitive advantage in &NUM &WEBSITE and be the first to read the latest articles from &NAME , research any article published by &NAME since &NUM , and stay up to date with the latest news though out the week with the Global Agenda section . Subscribe from only &NUM cents a day . SEARCH &WEBSITE Global Library The web The &NAME &NAME &NAME service To unsubscribe from this newsletter click here . &WEBSITE , you can sign up for additional newsletters or change your e-mail address by amending your details . &WEBSITE registration page and fill out the registration form . This mail has been sent to : &EMAIL &WEBSITE staff . Replies to this e-mail will not reach us . &WEBSITE &NAME &NAME &NAME &NAME &NUM .