Rapidly sliding global demand is expected to cut Thai automobile production by more than 35 per cent next year, said a report Saturday.

Singapore's November manufacturing output declined by 7.5 per cent compared with the same month last year, according to the Economic Development Board Friday.

The Japanese electronic giant Toshiba Corporation plans to build a new manufacturing and sales base in Vietnam to meet growing demand for high-efficiency motors in the global market, the company announced Wednesday.

The giant German insurer Munich Re said Monday it had agreed to pay 742 million dollars to buy a US insurance offshoot of the American International Group (AIG) Inc, which has emerged as a prominent victim of the global credit crunch.

Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux on Monday said it was to cut some 3,000 jobs worldwide after a drop in sales and lowered its full-year outlook.

The German car market is facing its worse downturn, the nation's auto industry association warned Wednesday as the deepening sense of economic gloom in the country leads to a shakeout in the industry and the prospects of big job cuts.

The two major US automakers, Ford Motor Co and General Motors Corp, reported massive third-quarters losses Friday as the ailing industry continued to lose cash and shed jobs.

Chief executives of the ailing "Big Three" US automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - met Thursday with two top Congressional leaders to discuss a further bail-out package and the future of the loss-making industry.