The world could face a full-scale "trade war" if governments keep pushing down exchange rates to boost exports, Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega warned in an interview on Monday.

He also told the Financial Times that Brazil was preparing new measures to prevent further appreciation of its currency, the real, whose continued strengthening threatens the country's export-led economy.

Air France-KLM said on Monday that bad weather in December that led to the closure of airports across Europe cost the company an estimated 70 million euros ($90 million), the Franco-Dutch airline said in a statement.

"The passenger and cargo activities were each affected by the periods of heavy snowfall in December in both Europe and the United States," the airline said.

Chrysler has its eye on China and is counting on its iconic Jeep brand to boost global sales and help return the U.S. automaker to profitability after a government-backed bankruptcy.

The first boatload of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee exported from Detroit is expected to reach China soon and Chrysler is also preparing to expand sales in South America, Eastern Europe and Russia, officials said.

Beijing authorities plan to build a "seven-star hotel" modeled after Dubai's Burj Khalifa -- the world's tallest building -- in a $1.3 billion joint project with Saudi Arabia.

The hotel will be erected in western Beijing's Mentougou district some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the

Jordan’s Transport Minister said Thursday that Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey have moved closer to economic integration.

The official Petra agency said that the countries signed an agreement establishing a committee to unify their legislation to enhance economic integration.

India's biggest oil refiner said Thursday it did not expect any supply shortages because of a payments problem between India and Iran, but other refiners are making contingencies in case of disruption.

In December, India's central bank said payments to Iran -- India's second biggest supplier of crude -- could no longer be settled through a long-standing clearing house system because of sanctions.

French Industry Minister Eric Besson on Thursday warned the country was facing "economic war" following an industrial espionage scandal at automaker Renault.

"Unfortunately, the affair appears serious," Besson said on RTL radio, after discussing the issue with Renault management.

Microsoft sold more than eight million gesture-sensing Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 video-game consoles in just two months, the technology titan's chief executive Steve Ballmer said Wednesday.

Ballmer used much of his time on stage for a keynote presentation on the eve of the Consumer

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang vowed on Wednesday to help Europe beat its debt crisis, starting a three-nation tour with promises to buy Spanish bonds and sign multi-billion-euro contracts.

Li, widely tipped to be the next premier, delivered a significant vote of confidence given China's world record foreign reserves of 2.648 trillion dollars (2.0 trillion euros), much of it in euros.

The dollar rose against the euro on Wednesday as investors grow more optimistic about the US economic recovery and stayed wary about the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.

In late morning deals, the European single currency fell to 1.3256 dollars from 1.3303 late in New York on Tuesday. The dollar edged up to 82.06 yen from 82.00 yen on Tuesday.