IN BRIEF

Mitsubishi plans a 'blow': Dutch minister

THE HAGUE: The Dutch government called yesterday Mitsubishi's plans to stop making cars at its sole western European plant "a blow", with trade unions saying the country's south will be hard hit by the move. The Japanese car maker announced in Tokyo earlier it was planning to stop automobile production in Europe by the end of 2012, blaming a difficult operating environment in the debt-hit continent.

S&P threatens

Fiat downgrade

MILAN: Standard & Poor's ratings agency threatened to downgrade Italian auto giant Fiat yesterday due to sagging sales in Europe and Brazil, as well as the company's over-reliance on US partner Chrysler. Fiat stock fell sharply after the announcement, with shares plunging 3.26 per cent to 4.51 euros in morning trading, while the benchmark FTSE Mib index on the Milan stock exchange was down just 0.94 per cent.

Vodafone says ends Greece merger talks

LONDON: British mobile phone giant Vodafone said yesterday that it had decided to end talks aimed at combining its Greek unit with Greece's telecommunications operator Wind Hellas. "Vodafone Group and Largo Limited, the sole shareholder of Wind Hellas, confirm that they have agreed to terminate discussions relating to a potential business combination between Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas," the British group said in a brief statement. Vodafone had entered talks over a possible tie-up last August.

Facebook looks to mobile for revenue

LONDON: Facebook, the social network giant, is set to begin showing advertisements to users on mobile devices before its US$5 billion initial public offering, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Facebook has already discussed proposals with unidentified advertising agencies for displaying what it calls "featured stories" in the news feed seen by users on the site in an effort to tap a new source of revenue, the newspaper cited several people familiar with the plans as saying.!

Tesco delays current account launch to 2013

LONDON: Tesco, the world's third-biggest retailer, said its Tesco Bank business in the UK has delayed the launch of its current account service until next year, it said yesterday, dealing a blow to government attempts to reduce the dominance of Britain's big five banks.!

Agencies