Debt-laden Dubai World, which will meet with the two local banks on its creditor committee this week, will propose that creditors get their principal investment back, magazine MEED said.

The magazine, which did not name sources, said Dubai World is expected to propose a debt restructuring that involves creditors receiving their principle investment, meaning there will be no `haircut' on their outstanding loans.

Dubai World will also suggest the outstanding loans have some form of guarantee from the government of Dubai, the magazine said. is still unclear, while they wait to be repaid. If little or no interest is paid, it would equate to a substantial haircut over several years, the magazine said, citing one Dubai-based banker close to the situation.

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 Crude oil futures traded slightly lower in Asia Tuesday on the back of a stronger U.S. dollar and ahead of tomorrow's U.S. inventory data, with the market focus returning to fundamentals above the $80-a-barrel level. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $81.47 a barrel at 0630 GMT, down 40 cents in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell 46 cents to $80.01 a barrel.

Crude oil futures have piggybacked on a strengthening euro against the dollar, as concerns over Greece's economic problems subsided and gasoline demand is expected to improve going into the U.S. summer driving season.

"The stronger euro has helped crude, but I think it's still premature to be bullish about the U.S. gasoline demand," said Victor Shum at Purvin & Gertz. "Fundamentals have taken a back seat to financials over the last year, but we have seen this year that above $80 (a barrel), the market does start to worry about weak fundamentals."

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A banking survey released today has found relatively high levels of confidence in the Irish economic recovery. According to the latest Bloxham Irish banking survey, 77 per cent of institutional respondents and 63 per cent of retail respondents feel the case for investing in Ireland, through either equities or bonds, has improved over the past 12 months.

More than 60 per cent of those questioned feel a majority stake by Government - ie, greater than 50 per cent - would negatively affect their decision for future investment in the Irish banks, however, and this figure rose 69 per cent among holders of AIB and Bank of Ireland, illustrating, Bloxham said, the pronounced impact on shareholders should the Government end up with majority stakes.

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The government has beefed up the board of badly struggling, state-owned carrier, Air India, with the induction of four independent directors with impressive records in their respective fields and is reportedly mulling inviting a strategic investor to bailout what has now become a white elephant.

As a merged entity, the carrier is now threatening to soak up badly needed funds, to the tune of a billion dollars every year atleast, for a lengthy period of time. According to aviation ministry sources, an approach paper on the financial condition of the airline is currently being prepared for Cabinet consideration, which will list out various financial options that could be taken up to bail out the airline. They also said that such a paper would be submitted for cabinet consideration sometime this month.

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Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at close: BEN - BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LTD - up nine cents to $9.87 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has followed the major banks and increased its variable home and business loans by 25 basis points. RIO - RIO TINTO LTD - up 53 cents to $74.40 BHP - BHP BILLTION LTD - up 61 cents to $42.28

Australian miners are set to benefit from a sharp jump in benchmark prices for iron ore as Chinese steel mills are reportedly ready to accept the increase. CTO - CITIGOLD CORPORATION LTD - up 0.7 cents to 9.8 cents Citigold Corporation's aim of hugely increasing production at its flagship project have been boosted, after it signed a non-binding development deal with a Chinese company.

Shubhra Tandon India is in a crisis as it tries to adjust its infrastructure and, even more critically, its cost structure to the realities of today...,” Mr Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO, International Air Transport Association, said in his speech at Singapore Air Show Aviation Leadership Summit on February 1.

Mr Bisignani's words sums it all up. Lack of infrastructure and high operating cost structures still remain deterrents to the growth of air passenger traffic and air cargo in India. Last year, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had at various occasions criticised the Government for the levy of Airport Development Fee and User Development Fee.

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THREE LANDMARK London hotels, the Berkeley, Claridges and the Connaught, which are owned by financier Derek Quinlan's Maybourne Hotel Group, may end up being controlled by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) within the next few months as the transfer of an initial €16 billion in loans nears completion.

According to well-placed sources, the first tranche of properties earmarked for Nama will also include five prestigious Irish hotels: the Shelbourne, the K-Club, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Wicklow, and the Radisson and G Hotel in Galway. All these high-profile establishments are linked to the top 10 developers whose multi-billion-euro portfolios will form the first wave of €80 billion in loans being moved into the State's asset recovery agency.

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Crude futures Thursday fell below $80 in Asian trading after the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro and high oil inventories curbed investors' appetite. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $79.70 a barrel at 0651GMT, down 30 cents in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell 21 cents to $77.88 a barrel.

The euro weakened against the U.S. dollar as investors fretted over debt problems in Greece and Spain. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. The U.S. dollar is still "a very very important indicator" in the absence of data that may provide cues on oil demand, said Tetsu Emori, commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments.

"There's no buyer" when oil is at $80, as Wednesday's data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. distillates stocks were still at historically high levels, he said. However, prices remain supported at $75 as "OPEC doesn't like prices below such level," Emori said.

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Greece's financial instability is spreading to its private-sector banks, the latest indication that the country's credit woes are worsening. Fitch Ratings, citing concerns about Greek banks' funding costs and profitability, downgraded the country's four major banks to triple-B, or two notches above "junk" status. Fitch characterized its outlook for Greek banks as "negative."

The main worry is that Greece's efforts to lower its deficit through austerity measures will quickly spread deep into the Greek economy, lowering demand for loans and cutting into bank profits. In addition, as long as investors are worried about Greece's ability to issue new debt and pay off maturing bonds, Greek banks will have to pay more to fund themselves.

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French air traffic controllers are threatening to strike for four days from today. In the UK, British Airlines cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, and Germany's Lufthansa is now negotiating with pilots over a strike which affected tens of thousands of passengers.

From today, strikes by air traffic controllers in France are set to affect services all over the country. Civil aviation authorities will ask airlines to cancel some flights at Paris' two main airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle.

Five unions are taking part. They are worried about how Europe's single sky policy will affect their jobs. The union's Len McCluskey says work conditions are also a major concern for unionised British Airways cabin crews, who have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike.

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