IN BRIEF

Crew strike threatens BA's future: minister

LONDON: British Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis yesterday urged cabin crew at British Airways to call off their planned strikes this month, saying it threatened the company's very existence. Cabin crew are due to walk out on seven days this month after talks between the airline and unions on changes to working practices broke down. Analysts say the dispute could cost the airline around £!140 million (US$212 million). Asked if the strike put the future of British Airways in danger, Adonis told the BBC: "Yes I do ... The stakes are incredibly high in this strike." "It is not only the damage it is going to do to passengers and the inconvenience it is going to cause, which is quite disproportionate to the issues at stake, but also the threat it poses to the future of one of our great companies."

Fierce debate expected at Fed meeting

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve's policy makers are expected to maintain benchmark interest rates at virtually zero per cent at their meeting this week amid intense debate on how soon the central bank should tighten monetary policy. More than a year after the central bank slashed the federal funds rate to an unprecedented zero to 0.25 per cent, economists said ultra-low rates were key to sustaining the fragile recovery from recession and easing high unemployment. But they expect a fierce debate at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting tomorrow after signs of dissent emerged at the last meeting in January when it voted 9-1 to maintain rates "exceptionally low" for "an extended period".

Argentina sees swap of defaulted debt

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina aims to restructure before the end of March US$20 billion in defaulted bonds left over from the country's historic debt crisis eight years ago, a government official said on Saturday. The South American country, which defaulted on US$100 billion in obligations in 2002, is preparing to reopen its massive 2005 debt restructuring. It is seeking permission from regulatory bodies such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission to carry out a swap of new debt for defaulted paper. Those preparations "are on track and we are confident that very soon we will have all the approvals to launch the best possible offer as soon as possible", Finance Secretary Hernan Lorenzino told local radio.

Merkel considering charge on banks

BERLIN: Germany is working on various possible schemes, including bank charges, to ensure taxpayers do not have to pay for the risks taken by banks in the future, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a German weekly magazine. "It is clear to all that the taxpayer cannot pay for the risks taken by banks," Merkel said in excerpts of an interview to be released yesterday in Sonntag Aktuell magazine. "We are currently working on models to draw the necessary lessons from the crisis. One of these would be a charge depending on the riskiness of a banks' business and the level of its integration (in the banking system)." A senior ally of Merkel called last week for banks to pay the government a charge which could amount to 0.1 per cent of a bank's assets to partly cover the costs of funding bailouts.

Kuwait's Global reports loss for 2nd year

KUWAIT CITY: Global Investment House, a leading Kuwaiti investment firm which is implementing a debt restructuring plan, yesterday said it posted a loss in 2009 for the second straight year. Global said in a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange that it posted a loss of 148.8 million dinars (US$516 million) in 2009 compared to a shortfall of 257.6 million dinars in the previous year. The company has been severely impacted by the global financial crisis and in December 2008 it defaulted on all of its estimated US$3 billion in debt. But last December, it struck a deal with creditors to restructure US$1.73 billion in debt. promising to repay all the loans within three years. The company's assets dropped to US$2.9 billion at the end of last year from 4.35 billion dollars at the end of 2008, while assets under management fell to US$5.9 billion from US$7.6 billion in the previous year.

Investment Dar wins legal protection

KUWAIT CITY: A Kuwaiti court has granted troubled firm Investment Dar, which owns half of luxury British carmaker Aston Martin, legal protection from creditors, the company yesterday said. The Kuwaiti firm, which has more than US$3 billion of debt, applied to come under the emirate's financial protection law, which was enacted about a year ago to help companies face the global financial crisis. The leading Islamic investment firm is the first company to resort to protection under the law. The court "has accepted the Investment Dar request to come under the financial stability law", the firm said.Agencies