US bank Wells Fargo has surprised investors by saying it expects a record net profit.   The bank said profit will be $3 billion in the first quarter, due to better-than-expected results at newly-acquired lender Wachovia, previously the fourth largest US bank that nearly collapsed last year.

Exchange traded funds provider, Barclays Bank has agreed to sell its iShares asset management business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for £3 billion as it looks to raise cash and avoid turning to the government for aid.   However, Barclays will still maintain links with iShares, and is providing £2.1 billion of financing for the deal - in effect a loan to CVC to help it buy iShares.   "This transaction realises significant value for Barclays," said the bank's chief executive John Varley.

Washington has drawn a lot of attention since the financial industry continues to shrink. About 400 unemployed finance professionals have signed up to attend a New York job fair this month that features nine federal agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The job-seekers are among 23,300 people who lost industry work in New York in the year through February as banks worldwide announced almost $870 billion in losses and write-downs.

French drinks company Pernod Ricard, the worldÔÇÖs second-largest liquor maker, announced on Wednesday a Ôé¼1 billion ($1.3 billion) rights offering of its Wild Turkey bourbon to ItalyÔÇÖs Gruppo Campari in an effort to speed up debt reduction. Pernod took on added debt when it bought Sweden's Vin & Spirits, the maker of Absolut vodka, for $9.24 billion.

US carmaker Ford has seen its shares rise 16 percent in New York, after saying it had cut $9.9 billion from its $25.8 billion debt.  The 38 percent debt reduction will reduce Ford's interest payments by more than $500 million a year.

Dubai's first low cost airline, flydubai,┬áannounced yesterday it would open its service in June, with the first daily flights departing to Lebanese capital Beirut and Amman, Jordan. flydubai will operate a $4 billion fleet of 54 Boeing 737 aircraft, each offering 189 economy class seats, from its base at Terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport.

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Brazilian mining company Vale has launched a ┬ú908.5 million coal mining project in Mozambique. ┬á Vale is the worldÔÇÖs second-largest mining company and the largest producer of iron ore.┬á Mozambique has attracted increasing numbers of foreign investors recently because of soaring mineral prices, and it is speculated that the country will now become the continentÔÇÖs second-largest coal producer behind South Africa, which holds most of AfricaÔÇÖs reserves.

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