Japan Airlines shares hit new low

Shares in Japan Airlines tumbled as much as 11 % on Tuesday, touching a new low of 85 yen. The slide was prompted by media reports that the carrier could be forced to file for bankruptcy. Last week, Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the state would not give the airline any more loans. Japan Airlines has rival offers from American Airlines and Delta to buy a stake in the firm. A bankruptcy filing would make a deal more complicated. "There's a lot of concern about what might happen if JAL does end up going through a bankruptcy court, what will happen to shareholders if the stock basically becomes worthless," said Nagayuki Yamagishi from Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. The Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp - a state-backed fund - was asked in October to help out the debt-laden Japan Airlines. A decision is due in January, but sources have told Reuters that it was considering a bankruptcy filing as part of the restructuring plan. Japan Airlines is battling 1.5 trillion yen of debt ( $16 bn; £10 bn). It has been bailed out by the government four times since 2001. Its shares have slumped nearly 60 % this year.

Russia signs Ukraine oil deal

Russia and Ukraine have reached a deal that will avoid disruption of oil supplies to the EU, according to Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz. Moscow had agreed to a 30 % increase in the transit tariff for oil piped to Europe through Ukraine, it said. There was no confirmation from Russia. Moscow had warned the dispute could threaten oil deliveries to EU states. Russian PM Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of abusing Russian oil transits but said he hoped a deal would be reached. "We are ready to deliver, we have a contract, but if any of the transit countries abuse, what can you do?" said Mr Putin. Nikolai Tokarev, head of Russian pipeline company Transneft, said on Monday that Ukraine had demanded higher payments for the transit of Russian oil, changing the terms of a 2004 contract and thereby raising the prospect of a year-end energy dispute. Russia said the dispute could cut supplies to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Last month Moscow said it had reached a deal which should prevent a repeat of the gas supply crises of recent years. It agreed to ease the terms under which it supplies gas to Ukraine after talks between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko. Moscow said that deal should prevent disruption - last January, many countries in Europe were left short of gas due to a payment dispute between Moscow and Kiev. Russia provides about a quarter of the gas consumed in the EU and 80 % of that is piped through Ukraine.

China rail firm hit the stock

The Chinese rail firm, China CNR, has made a muted start to stock market trading, rising just 4 % on its first day of trade. That is the smallest first-day gain for a stock debut in China this year. CNR has raised $2 bn (£1.2 bn) to upgrade its technology from the share market listing. It is the fourth-biggest Chinese listing this year. A flood of firms have listed on the stock market in Shanghai this year since a ban was lifted in June. Local media reported that in December alone, 35 new share sales were expected. "The weak debut is actually good for the market as it sends a warning for future initial public offerings, forcing companies to think twice before they set sky-high prices," said Chen Huiqin, senior stock analyst at Huatai Securities in Nanjing. China has the world's fastest-growing railway market. CNR is one of the country's two biggest rail firms, competing with China South Locomotive to supply trains. Beijing has pledged to increase spending fourfold over the next five years to improve infrastructure.

South Korea will beg pardon to ex-sumsung chairman

The South Korean government has decided to pardon the powerful former chairman of Samsung, convicted for tax evasion, the justice ministry has said. Lee Kun-hee is to be pardoned so he can return to the International Olympics Committee and help South Korea's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Mr Lee was pardoned on a separate funding conviction in 1997. Presidential pardons are often granted to leaders of South Korea's large, family-owned businesses or "chaebols". Olympian task "This decision was made so that Lee could take back his place at the International Olympic Committee and form a better situation for the 2018 Olympics to take place in Pyongchang," justice minister Lee Kwi-nam told reporters, following a cabinet meeting that approved the latest pardon. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the pardon raised questions about the rule of law in a country where family-run chaebols still wield a lot of power. Mr Lee, 67 , is widely regarded as the country's most prominent businessman. Trade lobby and sports groups had been urging the president to pardon him, Yonhap reported. South Korea has tried two times so far to host the Winter Olympics in the mountain resort of Pyongchang, and is bidding again, against Munich in Germany and Annecy in France. Samsung's Mr Lee stepped down from his chairmanship of South Korea's bid committee in April 2008 after alleged involvement in a deal to give his children a greater stake in the group's holding company. He was cleared of the charge but handed a suspended three-year jail term for tax evasion.

Oil price rising

Oil prices have climbed to more than $79 a barrel, reaching the highest levels for five weeks. During Monday's trading in London, US crude touched $79.12 a barrel before falling back later to $78.77. Heating oil futures led the gains, while London Brent crude rose by more than a dollar to $77.32 a barrel. Prices rose following forecasts of colder weather in the United States, and the expectation of increased consumption and falling reserves. That would indicate that demand was rising and signal an improvement in the US economy. The north-west of the US is also the world's largest heating oil market. On Thursday last week, benchmark crude rose $1.38 to settle at $78.05. Oil markets were closed on Friday for Christmas. Falling supplies? Inventory figures detailing the amount of oil held in stock are expected later this week from the Energy Information Administration. News of low stock levels could push oil prices above $80 a barrel by the end of the year, according to Clarence Chu, a trader with Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. Better employment figures in the US last week also helped to lift hopes of economic recovery and raised expectations of stronger consumer spending and oil consumption.

Japan factory production rise

Japan's factory output rose for the ninth straight month in November, up 2.6 % from October, as the manufacturing sector continued to recover. The rise, which was higher than expected, came in response to growing overseas demand for Japanese goods. Japan's exports to the rest of Asia totalled 2.7 trillion yen ($30 bn) in November, 4.7 % up on October. It was the first rise in 14 months. But domestic demand remained weak, as consumer spending fell again. Retail sales were 1 % lower in November than a year earlier, the 15 th monthly fall in a row, as consumers continued to cut spending because of job market fears. Japan returned to economic growth in the second quarter of 2009 after spending a year in recession, but falling salaries have prompted renewed worries about deflation. Average wages declined by 2.8 % in November from a year earlier, marking their 18 th consecutive monthly fall.

Russia and Georgia flights are started

Russia has authorised the first direct flights from the Georgian capital Tbilisi since last year's conflict between the two countries. The move is the latest thaw in ties that had been frozen since fighting broke out in August 2008. But Georgian Airlines said the permit had come too late to organise flights for the New Year and the start of the Orthodox Christmas public holidays. Moscow said Tbilisi had taken too long to reply to requests for information. Russia's Foreign Ministry said Georgian Airlines would be able to operate charter flights into Moscow and St Petersburg on 29 and 30 December. It said it had taken the "humanitarian significance of this issue" into account, particularly the ability of people to visit relatives over the holiday period. Reuters quoted ministry spokesman Timur Khikmatov as saying they would be the first passenger flights since the war. Roads opened But Georgian Airlines said the flights would not resume until 6 January - Christmas Eve in both Russia and Georgia - as the permission had not arrived in time, meaning no flights would cover the peak travel period. "We will not have the time to organise flights tomorrow and the day after tomorrow," spokeswoman Nino Girgobiani told the AFP news agency. Moscow dismissed the airline's complaint, saying Georgia took five days to reply to a request for relevant technical details of the flights. "In this situation all the responsibility for failing an important humanitarian action rests with the Georgian authorities," said a Foreign Ministry statement reported by the Interfax news agency. Georgia said Moscow had not sent request through the right diplomatic channels. On Thursday, the countries announced that a key road crossing closed since 2006 was to be reopened. The Kazbegi-Upper Lars crossing, which officials said was likely to reopen next March, is the only crossing that does not go through the Russian- backed breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian forces were driven out of the two regions in the bitter war last year. Correspondents say the recent signs of improving relations between Georgia and Russia are significant, but that the hostility between the two countries remains strong. Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.