Dollar trouble barges into G-8 summit
Evian: The dollar's recent tumble on the currency markets forced its way onto the agenda at a G-8 summit in France when leaders said that the sensitive issue of exchange rates would be broached on Monday. With stagnation threatening some of the Group of Eight economies such as Germany, Japan and Italy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi acknowledged that currencies would be discussed during Monday morning talks on economic prospects. "We will be busy with that tomorrow," Berlusconi said when asked by reporters about the dollar, which has fallen to record lows versus the euro in recent days, raising fears that exports from the 12-nation euro zone will lose in price competitivity. Berlusconi, whose country takes over the European Union's rotating presidency in July, also made it clear he would welcome a reduction in euro zone interest rates by the European Central Bank, a move that could tame the euro's surge versus the dollar as well as making business borrowing costs cheaper in the zone
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Air Canada signs pact with pilots, stays airborne
Montreal: Air Canada took to the skies as scheduled on Sunday after reaching a last-ditch cost-cutting pact with its 3,400 pilots, avoiding a court decision that could have grounded Canada's largest airline and forced its liquidation under bankruptcy. "With this significant hurdle in our restructuring behind us, I wish to reassure Air Canada's customers that it is business as usual and I encourage them to continue booking Air Canada with confidence," Robert Milton, chief executive of the Montreal-based airline, said in a statement. Details of the deal were not immediately available, but Air Canada had been asking for more than 800 layoffs, wage concessions and changes in working conditions under which some pilots will fly smaller aircraft for less pay. The agreement will have to be ratified by union members over the next few weeks.
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