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International Business News
IMF cuts 2008 global growth forecast to 3.7 percent
AFP, Frankfurt
The Internationa] Monetary Fund has cut its 2008 global growth forecast to 3.7 percent from 4.1 percent previously, a press report said Wednesday.
The IMF's new estimate is to be unveiled next week, the Financial Times Deutschland reported, without saying where it got the information.
According to press reports on Tuesday, the IMF cut its forecast for economic growth in die United States this year to 0.5 percent from 1.5 percent owing to the ongoing financial market crisis and weak housing market.
The fund also cut its growth forecast for Germany to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent, the daily Die Zeit reported.
Oil prices snap three-day losses, hit $102
AFP, London
World oil prices rose on Wednesday, snapping a three-day run of losses to breach 102 dollars per barrel as traders looked to fresh supply news in key crude producer Nigeria.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, rose 86 cents to 101.84 dollars per barrel, after earlier touching 102.18.
London's Brent North Sea cnide for May rose 73 cents to 100.90 dollars per barrel.
Anglo-Dutch energy group Shell said fire was raging on two supply pipelines in restive Ogoniland in southern Nigeria on Wednesday, but assured that oil exports had not been disrupted.
"We are trying to put out the fire, but we have not been able to have access. The good news is that production is not affected," Shell spokesman Tony Okonedo told AFP.
Philippine police asked to clamp down on rice hoarders
AFP, Manila
Philippine authorities on Wednesday ordered police to arrest rice hoarders and illegal traders as the country struggles to cope with rising prices of the key food staple.
Police will be deployed to warehouses owned by the National Food Authority (NFA), the state rice-importing agency', to prevent any pilfering by rogue traders, national police operations chief Silverio Alarcio said in a statement.
The move is aimed at pre-empting the "impact on peace - and order of price rises not only in rice but other basic commodities," the statement said.
President Gloria Arroyo this week said she will negotiate for more rice shipments from Thailand and other neighbouring countries to avert a possible supply crisis during the lean months from July to September.
Weak economy pushes auto sales off a cliff
AfP, Washington
The troubled US economy weighed down auto sales in March as skittish consumers cut back on purchases, especially of big luxury cars and trucks, sales reports showed Tuesday.
General Motors reported a 13 percent slide from a year ago in US sales as production fell sharply due to a strike at a key supplier. Ford Motor Co. saw a 14.3 percent slide while Chrysler LLC, heavily dependent on sport utility vehicles, witnessed a 19 percent plunge.
Among the big Japanese automakers, Toyota reported a 3.4 percent drop, while Nissan sales rose 3.6 percent and Honda showed a 4.2 percent gain.
Jesse Toprak, analyst at the research firm Edmunds.com, said the modest gains for some Japanese makers were misleading, since they were in the low-cost car category that typically delivers less profit.
Russian parliament enacts law to curb foreign investment in energy
AfP, Moscow
Russia's parliament on Wednesday adopted a law limiting access for foreign investors to key sectors of the economy including the oil and gas industries, in a third and final reading.
The law was passed by the lower house by 384 to 55 votes on Wednesday and needs to be approved by the upper house before being signed into force by President Vladimir Putin.
Under the terms of the law any private foreign company wanting to buy more than 50 percent of a company in any of 42 "strategic" sectors will need authorisation from a commission made up of economic and security officials.
Foreign state-controlled companies will have to go through the same procedure if they plan to acquire more than 25 percent in a Russian company that is included on the list, according to the text of the decree.