Rusal shares fall

PARIS: Shares in Russian metals giant UC Rusal fell on Wednesday when they were floated on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Paris after the initial public offering had tumbled in Hong Kong. Rusal shares opened at 17.70 euros, 1.84 per cent lower than its IPO, on an overall market that was down 1.29 per cent. Earlier in Hong Kong, the world’s largest aluminium producer closed at 9.66 Hong Kong dollars per share, a 10.56 per cent fall from its IPO price of 10.80 dollars.

Drop in air traffic

GENEVA: International airlines suffered their biggest decline in traffic since 1945 last year as passenger demand fell 3.5 per cent, the International Air Transport Association said on Wednesday. Freight also fell, by 10.1 per cent, as “full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic showed the industry ending 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline,” IATA said in a statement.

LG’s Q4 profits

SEOUL: South Korea’s LG Electronics said on Wednesday it swung to a fourth-quarter net profit thanks to robust sales of its flat-screen televisions and higher investment gains from its affiliate LG Display. The firm reported a net profit of 297.2 billion won ($256.6 million) in October-December compared to a net loss of 671.3 billion won a year earlier. It said its fourth-quarter operating loss narrowed to 139.5 billion won from 309.8 billion. On Tuesday, it announced a full-year profit of 2.053 trillion won from 482.8 billion a year earlier.