Hollywood magnate Harry Sloan was reported Thursday to be in takeover talks for Australia's Nine entertainment empire, which is struggling under debts that could see it default within months.

Nine, which owns several television stations, the ACP Magazines stable, ticketing agency Ticketek and online assets, is racing a February deadline to repay Aus$2.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) in debt.

Saudi Arabia will give Yemen aid worth $3.25 billion, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday.

"To ensure Yemen's security and stability, the kingdom will provide $3.25 billion to support development projects there which will be agreed upon with the Yemeni side," he said at the opening of the Friends of Yemen meeting.

Mazda Motor Corp. and Fiat SpA are working together on developing and manufacturing a roadster, or two-seater convertible, although the automakers will come up with different, distinctly styled models.

The deal with Fiat of Italy, which controls U.S. automaker Chrysler, serves as a perk for a money-losing Mazda, and highlights the Japanese automaker's trademark product — the best-selling roadster of all time.

Luxury goods maker Burberry Group PLC said Wednesday that sales of its signature trench coats and other outdoor wear led a 26 percent gain in full-year profit.

Burberry reported that net profit for the year ending March 31 was 263.3 million pounds ($415 million), up from 208.4 million pounds a year earlier but still just short of analyst expectations for 275 million pounds. Revenue rose 24 percent to 1.86 billion pounds, and the company raised its dividend by 25 percent to 25 pence.

Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world's wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly.

A preview of the respected BRW Rich 200 list, published Wednesday, put the mining tycoon's personal fortune at Aus$29.17 billion (US$28.48 billion), a figure that sees her outstrip Walton for the first time.

Gulf countries are channeling billions of dollars into airport expansions, betting on a sharp rise in passenger traffic and competing to strengthen their positions as regional hubs for global travel.

"We are trying to catch up with demand. We are not overspending," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the chairman of Dubai Airports and the emirate's fast-growing carrier Emirates Airlines, to justify the vast amounts being poured into the sector.

Malaysia and Australia on Tuesday signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that will strip away tariffs and which Canberra hopes will help jump-start negotiations with China, South Korea and Japan.

The agreement inked in Kuala Lumpur will grant Malaysian exporters duty-free entry into the Australian market once the trade deal comes into force in January 2013.

French hotel giant Accor said Tuesday it had sold its U.S. budget hotel division to the Blackstone investment fund for $1.9 billion and would use the funds to tap into growth in Asia.

"Accor announces it has signed an agreement today to sell its United States Economy Hotels Division to an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, for a total value of $1.9 billion" (1.5 billion euros), it said in a statement.

The oil-rich Gulf state of Kuwait will spend $6 billion to expand its international airport to handle 13 million passengers by 2016, the head of the civil aviation directorate said on Tuesday.

"The cost of the projects amounts to $6 billion," Fawaz al-Farah told reporters at an airport show in Dubai, adding that work is expected to begin this year.

British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Tuesday said annual net profits dropped almost 13 percent as eurozone losses offset asset sale gains and strong performances in emerging markets and the U.S..

Vodafone said profit after tax hit £6.957 billion (8.6 billion euros, $11.0 billion) in the 12 months to March 31, down 12.7 percent compared with 2010/11.