Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says the re-establishment of the Sydney Airport Community Forum will increase the level of respect shown to the general public by the airport.

Victorian Premier John Brumby is visiting three countries during an 11-day trade mission to the Middle East and Asia.

Finance ministers and central bank heads from the world's seven largest economies will discuss the the global credit crunch when they meet in Tokyo in Japan today.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Gazprom said on Friday that Ukraine was not willing to resolve a dispute over unpaid gas debts, making it more likely that the Russian gas giant will go ahead with a threat to cut supplies next week.

The zinc producer Zinifex has extended the deadline for its proposed takeover of Allegiance Mining and the Avebury nickel mine on Tasmania's west coast.

The Master Builders Association has indicated it would support a scheme to set aside 15 per cent of every new development subdivision for low cost housing.

PARIS (AFP) - Fitch Ratings on Friday downgraded the European aerospace giant EADS, the parent group of planemaker Airbus, due to & quot;pressure & quot; on its earnings margins and cash flow generation.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US conglomerate General Electric has decided to relocate the headquarters of its key consumer financing business, GE Money, from Connecticut to London, a GE spokesman said Friday.

The Australian Bankers' Association has backed moves to increase competitiveness in the home loans market, but says exit fees should stay as they are.

Western Australian Minister for Agriculture Kim Chance says the State Government may appeal against a court decision clearing a live animal exporter of animal cruelty charges.

The following substantial shareholder notices were made to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) yesterday.

A court in Paris has ordered that the alleged rogue trader Jerome Kerviel must stay in jail, as police investigate trades that cost his bank a record & #36;8 billion.

MONTREAL (AFP) - Private equity players and pension funds have approached Air Canada's parent ACE Aviation Holdings touting a possible buy of Canada's top airline, ACE chief executive Robert Milton said Friday.

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuelan energy minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday that the South American state would not be & quot;intimidated & quot; by US energy giant ExxonMobil in a legal spat tied to the nationalization of key oil fields.

Regional Express airlines says it will suspend some of its services and postpone others because of a pilot shortage.

The Master Builders' Association says the collapse of a Sunshine Coast construction company will affect many in the Queensland housing industry.

South African President Thabo Mbeki has dismissed concerns that his country's electricity crisis is threatening the 2010 soccer World Cup.

LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets rallied in morning trade, with support from heavyweight miners after a recovery on Wall Street overnight, dealers said Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - The dollar slipped against the euro but rose against the yen on Friday as dealers awaited a weekend meeting of top finance officials from the world's richest nations.

GENEVA (AFP) - The World Trade Organisation has ruled in favour of a complaint by the United States against the European Union's banana import regime, US trade officials said on Friday.