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International Business News
Balkans shiver as Russia gas crisis worsens
AFP, Zagrvb
A Russia Ukraine gas dispute worsened for the Balkans on Tuesdays with shipments ceasing to two ex Yugoslav stales and slashed to another as temperatures plunged far below freezing.
As Russia accused Ukraine of shutting pipelines carry ing its gas to southeastern Europe and beyond, Croatia and Macedonia said deliveries were halted in line with regional cuts in Bulgaria, Greece andTbrkey.
Officials in Croatia, which receives its Russian natural gas through pipelines from Austria, said deliveries had ceased completely.
"Russian gas supplies to Croatia stopped flowing at 5:00 am (0400 GMT)," Neda Erdeljac, the spokeswoman for Croatia's national gas operator PLINACRO, told AFP.
As temperatures hovered around minus 20 degrees Celsius, Croatian oil and gas group INA called upon all consumers to use gas sparingly because of the cold snap.
The economy ministry said reductions were to start for Croatia's big industrial consumers but households as well as schools, hospitals and other institutions of public importance would not be affected immediately.
"Circumstances have occurred due to which temporary measure to reduce gas supplies to certain categories of consumers have been introduced," a ministry statement said.
China's sovereign wealth fund to slow investment
AFP, Shanghai
China's 200-billion-dollar sovereign wealth fund will slow down its investing pace after being stung by major investments that turned sour in the world financial crisis, a report said Ihesday.
China Investment Corp (CIC) has been adjusting its investment plans since September, said Zhang Hongli, the company's vice executive president, according to the official Shanghai Securities News.
The moves came amid turbulence on global financial markets as the world faces recession.
"Now, cash is king and as far as possible we will refrain from making investments," Zhang was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
CIC suffered nearly four billion dollars in unrealised losses from its five-billion-dollar investment in the bank
Morgan Stanley made in December 2007, the report said.
It also owns more than 10 percent of private-equity firm Blackstone, after increasing its original stake in October.
CIC bought its original stake in Blackstone just before the company's 31-dollar-per-share initial public offering in June 2007. Blackstone’s shares are currently trading at less than a quarter of its IPO prices.
French consumer confidence weakens in December
AFP, Paris
French consumer confidence weakened in December, official figures showed on Tuesday, and analysts warned that sentiment could fall further in the near-term as households fret over the state of their finances.
The national statistics body INSEE reported that its confidence index fell one point to minus 44 after having jumped three points in November. The index in July plunged to all-time lowof minus 47.
In a separate report a composite index measuring the health of the French economy, compiled by purchasing managers, fell to a record low 37.6 in December, according to the Markit research firm.
The December confidence figures from INSEE meanwhile showed that French households had grown more pessimistic about their own financial prospects as well as those for France's standard of living and the possibility of increased unemployment over the next 12 months.
The December confidence index was well clear of the record July plunge, which analysts said showed that consumers had mounted some resistance to the end-of-the year gloom and doom brought on by a global finance crisis.
Toyota to suspend domestic production for 11 days
AFP, Tokyo
Toyota Motor Corp, said Tuesday that it would suspend production at all of its domestic plants for 11 days between February and March in response to a slump in sales.
The move underscores the rapidly deteriorating fortunes of Japan's auto giants, which have racked up bumper profits in recent years and invested heavily to expand their production facilities overseas.
"We will suspend the operation of 12Toyota factories in Japan for 11 more days," a Toyota spokesman said.
Japan's top automaker is already idling its domestic plants for three days in January to cope with rapidly wors-eningdemand.
The Japanese auto giant last month forecast its first-ever annual operating loss, blaming "an unprecedented crisis" in the global auto industry.