French companies go on deal signing spree with China
Beijing: European plane maker Airbus and French engineering and utility firms signed deals worth more than $10 billion in Beijing during the visit of French President Jacques Chirac to the country. Chirac who said that China's rapid growth would "change the face of the world," was welcomed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and a 21-gun military salute at Tiananmen Square. In 1989 the Tiananmen bloody crackdown on protestors led to a European Union arms export ban that Chirac wants lifted and his vocal support for an end to the ban have earned him accolades in China's official press at the start of his fourth trip as president, which caps a decade of improving ties.

China, which often maintains a balance between rivals Airbus and Boeing, bought 150 Boeing jets during a visit by US President George W. Bush in November 2005, and another 150 from Airbus during Wen's visit to France a month later.
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Ford to double auto components purchases from China
Beijing: Ford Motor Co said it plans to almost double its purchases of China-made parts this year to cut production costs. Ford will buy between $2.5 billion and $3 billion in auto parts in China against $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion bought last year from the country. The parts will be exported to assembly plants in other Asian countries, the US and Europe.

Ford said China was key to its global sourcing strategy'' and Ford will buy more Chinese parts as the quality of local suppliers improves.

Foreign automakers are purchasing more from China to help reduce their costs said analysts as suppliers there are getting more competitive in quality and are cheaper.
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MS profit up 11 pc
Seattle: Microsoft Corp has posted an 11 per cent rise in quarterly net profit on Thursday, boosted by a strong performance at its database division and reducing losses from its Xbox 360 video game console.

MS said it plans to defer revenue of $1.5 billion related to the upcoming launches of a new Office software suite and Windows Vista, the first major upgrade of its operating system in five years.

Including the effects of the deferral, which will reduce profit this quarter by 11 cents per share, Microsoft forecast second-quarter profit of between 22 cents and 24 cents per share on revenue of $11.8 billion to $12.4 billion.

In after-hours trade, Microsoft shares rose to $28.50 from a close of $28.35 on Nasdaq.
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