Hong Kong Air- craft Engineering Company were also frozen. In September, Swire boosted its stake in HAECO to 46.96 percent from 33.52 percent, buying a chunk of Cathay Pacific 9s holding in a deal worth 1.90 billion Hong Kong dollars (244 million U.S. dollars), according to Dow Jones Newswires.<br><br> Hon Hai shares tumble on new China wage rise TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reu- ters) 4 Shares in Hon Hai Precision Industry tumbled on Monday on concerns about earnings after the electron- ics maker offered workers in southern China a second pay rise that could double wages from a month ago. Taiwan 9s Hon Hai, the world 9s biggest contract elec- tronics manufacturer with a list of clients including Ap- ple Inc, Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co, has been wrestling with the fallout from a series of suicides at its Foxconn International Holdings unit. Hon Hai said late on Sunday that production line workers at Foxconn 9s Shenzhen hub would be able to earn 2,000 yuan ($293) a month from October if they passed a three-month performance review.<br><br> This pushed Hon Hai shares down by as much as 6.8 percent, the maximum amount permitted, before ending down 5.6 percent at a near 10-month closing low. The broader market fell 2.5 percent. of an out-of-control banking system.<br><br> Spanish firm Grifols to acquire Talecris Grifols SA of Spain said Mon- day it has agreed to buy Tale- cris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp., a U.S. maker of plas- ma medicines part-owned by Cerberus Capital Manage- ment LP, for $3.4 billion. The deal 4which Grifols will pay for using a mix of mainly cash and some stock 4represents a big win for Cerberus, which suffered through the financial crisis with its high-profile, ill-fated investments in auto maker Chrysler LLC and lender GMAC LLC.<br><br> Grifols will pay $19 in cash and 0.641 newly issued, nonvoting shares for each share of Talecris. The Spanish company, which already has operations in the U.S., es- timates the purchase will generate $230 million in syner- gies over the next four years. Talecris, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., was formed in 2005 when Cerberus, along with Boston-based private-equity firm Ampersand Ventures, paid about $450 million for the blood-plasma unit of German drug company Bayer AG.<br><br> Talecris had $1.53 billion in sales last year, up 12% from a year earlier. Profit more than doubled to $153.9 million. The company 9s products help treat conditions such as immune deficiencies, bleeding disorders and infectious diseases.<br><br> Chrysler recalls nearly 600,000 vehicles DETROIT (Reuters) 4 Doors that could catch fire, brakes that could fail and accelerators that could stick have caused Chrys- ler Group LLC to recall nearly 600,000 vehicles involving five models in the United States, U.S. safety regulators said on Monday. Chrysler informed the U.S.<br><br> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the potential safety issues last week, the NHTSA reports show. As many as 284,831 Chrysler Town and Country minivans and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans for model years 2008 and 2009 could develop a problem in the electrical system that could cause a short circuit in the latch for the sliding door, which could cause a fire, Chrysler told regulators. As many as 288,968 Chrysler Jeep Wranglers from model year 2007 to 2010 could experience leaking brake fluid which could cause brake failure.<br><br> These two recalls are in addition to one first report- ed last Friday for as many as 25,336 Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicles for the 2007 model year involving possible sticky accelerator pedals. BERLIN (AFP) 4 The International Air Transport Association has raised its sector forecasts and said on Monday that it now expected airlines to get back into profit for the first time for three years. cWe are upgrading our global industry forecast to a full year profit of 2.5 billion dollars, d or 2.1 billion euros, IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani told an annual general assembly in Berlin.<br><br> In March, the association estimated its members would post a loss of about 2.8 billion dollars this year, following a massive drop of 9.4 billion dollars in 2009. Bisignani said the sector would thus post its first profits since 2007, but added that cwith a margin of 0.5 percent it will be a modest party. d The recovery would be uneven moreover, but cEurope with its weak economy will be the only region in the red, with a 2.8 billion (dollar) loss, d the IATA executive said. Last year, the European air transport sector lost 4.3 billion dollars, revised figures showed.<br><br> This year, it was hit by a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland that grounded traffic for almost a week, forcing the cancellation of some 100,000 flights. The volcano cost airlines 1.8 billion dollars in sales, Bisig- nani said. Meanwhile, the IATA warned about the risk of surplus capac- ity within the air transport industry.<br><br> Airlines are expected to take delivery of 1,340 planes, of which 500 are meant to replace aircraft being taken out of service. Plane crews presented a further risk, Bisignani said, as he called on pilots and other flight personnel for moderation in sal- ary demands. On Thursday, BA said it had carried 2.37 million passengers in May, a decrease of 14.2 percent from the same month a year earlier, owing to a strike by cabin crew.<br><br> Bisignani had a bullish long-term outlook for the sector, say- ing that he expected airlines to have almost no accidents by 2050 and to cut carbon dioxide emissions by half. Best of all, cwe will have eliminated queues with integrated systems ensuring security as we process more passengers, d he forecast. IATA sees airlines making 5rst pro 5ts since 2007 Stock index futures pointed to a low- er open on Wall Street on Monday, adding to the previous session 9s strong sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.6 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.5 per- cent at 0755 GMT.<br><br> European shares were down 1.4 percent in morning trade, following Friday 9s sell-off on Wall Street and in Asia, while fears that Greek debt problems could spread to other countries such as Hungary continued to rattle inves- tors. Japan 9s Nikkei average sank nearly 4 percent on Monday - the index 9s biggest daily drop in 14 months - as investors, reeling from debt woes in Hungary and the euro 9s fall to a more than eight-year low against the yen, dumped stocks across the board. The euro dropped below $1.19 against the dollar as inves- tors grew increasingly concerned about more slides in the currency after a clear break below a support point on charts, sparked by mounting worries over sovereign debt problems in Hungary and the euro zone.<br><br> Hungary 9s Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Mon- day the country will stick to the 3.8 percent of GDP budget defi- cit target agreed with international lenders for this year and will cut expenditures to achieve it. Matolcsy also told CNBC television that there were blunders in communication last week, but cit is blatant that Hungary is not Greece. The chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, dismissed concerns on Sunday that Hungary might face a Greek-style debt cri- sis and said the current level of the euro did not worry him.<br><br> G20 finance ministers, meeting in South Korea over the weekend, failed to calm market jitters despite declaring themselves ready to safeguard recovery and stress- ing the importance of putting their public finances in order. Oil fell as much as 2.8 percent to below $70 on Monday af- ter disappointing U.S. jobs data and warnings about Hungary 9s economy re-ignited concern about energy demand growth and Europe 9s debt crisis.<br><br> Energy shares will be in the spotlight as BP gained 1.7 per- cent after saying it expected a second oil containment system, which would allow it to increase the amount of oil being cap- tured from its leaking Gulf of Mexico well, to be available for deployment in mid-June. U.S. stocks plummeted to their lowest close since February on Friday after May 9s jobs figure slammed investors already reeling from worry over Hungary 9s debt problems.<br><br> The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 323.31 points, or 3.15 percent, to 9,931.97. The Standard & Poor 9s 500 Index lost 37.95 points, or 3.44 percent, to 1,064.88. The Nasdaq Compos- ite Index tumbled 83.86 points, or 3.64 percent, to 2,219.17.<br><br> (Source: Reuters) Stock futures signal more losses NEW DELHI/AMMAN (Reuters) 4 Abu Dhabi 9s Etisalat said it was studying options in India, including a deal with Reliance Communica- tions, while U.S. telecoms giant AT&T was named in media reports as another potential investor in In- dia 9s No. 2 mobile player.<br><br> Reliance Communications, with a market value of about $7.5 billion, said on Sunday it was open to sell- ing a stake of up to 26 percent to strategic or private equity investors. A frenzy of deal-making speculation has surrounded the company, the only major Indian cellular carrier without a foreign strategic investor in the world 9s fastest-growing mobile market. Talk started soon after controlling shareholder Anil Ambani and his long-estranged brother Mukesh ended an agreement that forbade them from competing on each other 9s turf, freeing Anil to bring new investors into his debt-laden company.<br><br> On Sunday, Reliance Comm said its board approved selling up to 26 percent at a premium to its current market price, which at current market prices would be worth about $2 billion. The Indian mobile carrier did not give a time frame or any details about a possible deal, but media reports and a person familiar with the matter had previously cited Abu Dhabi 9s Etis- alat and South Africa 9s MTN as potential partners. cWe did not make any offers to Reliance.<br><br> We 9re studying sever- al opportunities in India, among them is Reliance, d Etisalat Chair- man Mohammad Omran told Reuters in Amman on Monday. AT&T, the biggest U.S. phone company by revenue, de- clined to comment on a report in the Wall Street Journal that the companies had talked about a transaction.<br><br> The New York Times also reported that AT&T was in preliminary talks with Re- liance Comm. Finding a buyer willing to pay a high premium for a minority stake in Reliance Comm may be a challenge given the ongoing price war in India 9s 15-player cellphone market and the heavy capital expense needed to build out third-generation mobile networks. Reliance Comm shares rose 14 percent last week on deal talk but still ended Friday 80 percent below their early 2008 peak.<br><br> In a sign of just how bruising In- dia is, UK giant Vodafone last month took a charge of 2.3 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) on its India business and is also fighting a $2.56 billion tax bill in the country. Market leader Bharti Airtel, searching for more attractive opportunities elsewhere, is paying $9.7 billion to buy Zain of Kuwait 9s Africa operations. Bharti is about one-third owned by Singapore Telecommunications.<br><br> cThe event would indeed be positive for RCOM, if it hap- pens, however, we would view it as negative for the sector, d Kotak Securities analysts wrote in a Monday note. cThis event would mean a further infusion of risk capital in the industry, without leading to any consolidation, d they said. Reliance Comm had net debt of 199 billion rupees ($4.2 billion) at the end of March and last month paid 85.85 billion rupees for a 3G licences in an auction that was far more costly than had been forecast.<br><br> A stake sale would help it cut debt. AT&T has long been interested in India, which boats 600 million cellular subscribers. The U.S.<br><br> giant sold its stake Idea Cellular in 2005, though it continues to offer other services in the country. In 2007, it applied for an all-India telecoms licence, but is still waiting for approval. The company had been seen to be a possible bidder for 3G spectrum but ended up staying away.<br><br> A Reliance Comm official could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. cSome of these major players who are not present in In- dia, if they want to give a sense to their shareholders that we are not missing the India cake, we are not missing the India theme as a strategy, so probably they may find it use- ful, d said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equity head at SMC Capitals in New Delhi. Etisalat says eyes India options, incl Reliance IKCO, Renault set to produce 3 new models Tehran Times Economic Desk TEHRAN 4 The vice president of giant automaker Iran Khodro Company stated that IKCO had reached a preliminary agree- ment with Renault of France to produce three new models in Iran.<br><br> Mir-Javad Soleimani said IKCO and the French automak- er will produce the new models based on the X-90 platform, the Mehr News Agency reported. He added that IKCO has been awarded the Green Medal by Renault for being up to par with its technical standards for three consecutive years. ICCIM to host First Intl.<br><br> Conference and Exhibit on Women and Trade Tehran Times Economic Desk TEHRAN 4 Iran Chamber of Commerce Industries and Mines plans to hold The First International Conference and Exhibition on Women and Trade in Tehran from July 13 to 14. The goals of ICCIM for or- ganizing this event include encouraging women entrepre- neurship, enhancing develop- ment by women active in eco- nomic fields in the country and supporting female members of the Chamber, ISNA news agency reported. Another objective of the meeting is to create a platform for businesswomen meant to share their experiences, dis- cuss new ideas and identify new opportunities.<br><br> Promoting small and medi- um enterprises run by women to have access to regional and global markets are further as- pirations of the organizers. Women entrepreneurs from Turkey, Tajikistan, India, Af- ghanistan, and the Czech Re- public, the secretary-general of ECO and representatives from the Women Entrepreneurs Council in six provinces have agreed to take part in the gath- ering. GIOVANNI BISIGNANI<br><br>

less