In Short

A round-up of today's other business stories in brief

EU imposes 1.38bn fine on glass cartel

Europe's largest cartel fine of €1.38 billion was yesterday imposed on four leading glass manufacturers, after they illegally fixed the price of glass used in the automotive industry for five years.

France's St Gobain will have to pay €896 million, well in excess of a €560 million reserve that it had set aside to cover an adverse finding in the case.

The amount is a record fine by European regulators on a single company for price-fixing.

Pilkington faces a €370 million penalty; Japan's Asahi Glass must pay €113.5 million; and Belgium's Soliver faces a relatively modest fine of €4.4 million. The financial implications of the European Commission's finding, which started with an anonymous tip-off and followed a three-year inquiry, may continue.The decision could open the way for buyers of the glass - notably car manufacturers - to pursue private damages against the companies involved on the grounds that prices were illegally inflated. - (Financial Times service)

Best Buy slashes profits forecast

Best Buy, the number one US electronics chain, slashed its fiscal 2009 profit forecast, driven by weak consumer spending heading into the crucial holiday selling season.

Best Buy's announcement comes just two days after smaller electronics retail rival Circuit City Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

"Since mid-September, rapid, seismic changes in consumer behaviour have created the most difficult climate we've ever seen. Best Buy simply can't adjust fast enough to maintain our earnings momentum for this year," chief executive Brad Anderson said in a statement.

EU clears rescue of Alitalia

The European Commission approved an Italian rescue of Alitalia and said the airline's new owners would not have to repay an illegal government loan, clearing a major hurdle in the deal to revive the carrier.

The Italian government-backed CAI investor group's €375 million takeover of Alitalia's profitable assets is contingent on the bailout winning EU approval.

Unemployment to hit 9% next year

Unemployment could rise to almost 9 per cent next year as the country endures a "painful and deep" recession, according to a prediction from Friends First.

The financial services group's quarterly economic outlook suggested the numbers signing on the Live Register could rise to 350,000 by the end of 2009, bringing unemployment to 8.8 per cent. Just over 260,000 people were signing on the register at the end of October.