Lufthansa passenger numbers up

FRANKFURT: Lufthansa, Germany's number one airline, said yesterday passenger numbers were up again in September, despite a cabin crew strike that grounded hundreds of flights at the start of the month. Lufthansa said in a statement it carried 9.561 million passengers in September, 1.6 percent more than during the same month last year. Lufthansa, which also owns Austrian Airlines and SWISS, said the number of passengers on Lufthansa-only flights rose by 1.8 percent to 6.916 million last month. SWISS passengers were up 4.3 percent at 1.522 million, but the number of passengers flying with Austrian Airlines fell by 2.8 percent to 1.123 million.

Waertsilae to build power plant

HELSINKI: Finnish industrial group Waertsilae said yesterday that a consortium it formed with a South Korean construction company is to build a $ 552 million (428 million euro) power plant in Jordan. The plant will begin service in 2014 and is expected to become "the world's largest tri-fuel power plant", meaning that it's capable of utilising natural gas, heavy fuel oil and light fuel oil. The 573-megawatt plant will initially operate on heavy fuel oil, but will switch to running on natural gas once the relevant infrastructure is in place. Waertsilae said that water usage — in a country hit by water shortage -- will be "close to zero".

Moody’s blow to Fiat, Peugeot

PARIS: Sales by carmakers in Western Europe will struggle for six more years to reach pre-crisis levels, the ratings agency Standard & Poor's said yesterday as Moody's downgraded its notes on Fiat and Peugeot by one notch each. S&P forecast that auto sales on the continent would remain below 12 million this year, compared with almost 15 million in 2007, owing to Europe's poor economic state and concurrent drop in consumer confidence. The 15 million auto level might be attained once again in 2018, the agency said in a study released on the sidelines of the Paris auto show. Fiat and PSA Peugeot Citroen were both cut by one notch to "Ba3," with a negative outlook, a Moody's statement said.

Toshiba raises stake in Westinghouse

TOKYO: Toshiba Corp. is raising its stake in US nuclear power unit Westinghouse Electric despite uncertainty about the future of the technology in Japan after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. The Japanese electronics maker said Wednesday it will purchase another 20 percent stake from US-based Shaw Group for 125 billion yen ($ 1.6 billion), raising Toshiba's ownership to 87 percent. Westinghouse operates four nuclear reactors in the US and four in China, and is talking with potential partners to expand its business. Public worries about atomic energy surged in Japan after the tsunami last year set off multiple meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. All of Japan's reactors were put offline, but two were brought back earlier this year. The Japanese government is targeting a phase-out of nuclear power by 2040.

Danaher, Cooper to sell JV

WASHINGTON: Danaher Corp. and Cooper Industries say they will sell a tool making business they created two years ago as a joint venture for about $ 1.6 billion to private equity firm Bain Capital. Danaher is an industrial and medical equipment manufacturer based in Washington, D.C. Cooper is headquartered in Ireland and makes electrical components and tools. The companies announced in March 2010 that they would blend some of their tool making businesses into a joint venture named Apex Tool Group. They completed the deal a couple months later and have each kept a 50 percent ownership interest. Danaher says the price of the sale of the joint venture is subject to post-closing adjustments, but it expects to see after-tax net proceeds of about $ 650 million.