WB president Wolfowitz resigns
Washington: Paul Wolfowitz has resigned as president of the World Bank. This ends a lengthy battle over the question of his stewardship of the bank prompted by his involvement in a high-paying promotion for his companion.
His resignation takes effect on June 30.

A former U.S. deputy defense secretary Wolfowitz is seen as a leading architect of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Wolfowitz fought hard up to the last hour to clear his name after a bank panel found he broke several bank rules by involving himself in the promotion of Shaha Riza, a Middle East expert at the bank.

U.S. President George W. Bush has accepted Wolfowitz' resignation and said he would have preferred he stay at the bank.
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GE to finalise sale of plastics business soon
New York: General Electric Co will soon sell its plastics unit for about $11 billion, exceeding many analysts' forecasts, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp of Riyadh, the world's largest chemical firm by market value, is likely to win the bidding over Dutch petrochemical maker Basell after a long auction process. Neither a GE spokesman nor Sabic immediately returned calls seeking comment.

Some analysts had expected Sabic to be the lead contender because of GE's close ties to the Saudi government, the Journal said.

Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE put the plastics business on the auction block in January.

GE's chairman and chief executive Jeff Inmelt said last month that the effort to sell GE Plastics is on track and the company expects a deal to close in the third quarter.

The unit, which makes plastics for automotive parts, computer enclosures, compact disks, telecoms equipment and construction materials, faced margin pressure in 2006 as a result of the rising price of benzene, a key raw material.

GE's plastics business could be worth around $8 billion to $10 billion.
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