Babcock gets cartel nod: Engineering group Deutsche Babcock AG said on Tuesday German cartel authorities had given it the go ahead to acquire a 74.9 per cent stake in power plant builder Steinmueller from Philipp Holzmann AG.Construction group Holzmann, which formerly held the majority stake in Steinmueller, and Deutsche Babcock made the announcement in a joint statement. Holzmann announced last year it wanted to withdraw from the energy and environmental technology sector and dispose of its Steinmueller stake.

Body Shop warns on profits after poor Xmas: Toiletry retailer Body Shop International Plc said on Tuesday its full-year profits would be below current market estimates after poor British Christmas sales. It said its like-for-like sales in the 10 weeks to January 2 fell two per cent worldwide and six per cent in Britain. The company said it would make an announcement next week on its plans to reshape the business.

Heidelzement raises 1998 sales 6 pc: German cement maker Heidelberger Zement AG on Tuesday reported that group sales rose six per cent in 1998 to 7.7 billion marks. Heidelberger Zement made its announcement at the "Bau '99"construction trade fair in Munich. It said its cash flow position hadimproved in 1998 and that in 1999 it planned to improve its corporate structure and cut costs while entrenching its market share. Heidelberger Zement said it planned short-term investment in renovating its Union Bridge cement works in North America.

Kepco fails to sell won-denominated bonds: South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Corp said on Tuesday it had decided not to sell any of its planned won-denominated bonds due to unfavourable market conditions. "The market conditions were too unfavourable for us to sell the bonds at reasonable prices," said an official at the corporation's treasury department. He declined to comment further. South Korea's electricity monopoly had announced earlier on Tuesday that it would hold separate auctions to sell unspecified amounts of three- and five-year bonds.

Qantas adds Asia services: Qantas Airways Ltd said on Tuesday it would add flights from Australia to Jakarta, Singapore and Bali, as well as from Auckland to Melbourne, from March 28. The additionalflights will be from Sydney to Singapore via Jakarta on Wednesdays, from Melbourne to Singapore via Denpasar in Bali on Saturdays, Melbourne to Hong Kong on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with connections to other parts of China and Asia, and Auckland to Melbourne on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The airline will also double its Melbourne to Bangkok service to six a week. Qantas deputy Chief executive officer Geoff Dixon said the new northern summer schedules would include some changes, including an evening departure for its Tokyo to Cairns flight.

Norfolk Southern in rail use talks with Amtrak-WSJ: Norfolk Southern Corp is negotiating with Amtrak to run freight trains on Amtrak's high-speed New York-to-Washington passenger route, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday. The plans are a sign that Norfolk Southern intends to move aggressively to win freight business when it divides Conrail Inc. with CSX Corp as early as March, the Journal said. The use of the Amtrak corridor, which isshorter and more direct than other tracks, would allow Norfolk Southern to offer faster schedules for the New York area, which is the nation's largest consumer market.

Styl plans HUF 1 bn capital increase: Hungarian garment factory Styl Ruhagyar Rt plans to raise its capital by at least one billion forints ($4.62 million) in April, commercial director Miklos Molnar told Hungarian news agency MTI. Styl's registered capital is 1.77 billion fopints at present. Molnar declined to disclose any numbers for last year but said Styl's sales were above targets. He added, however, that three plants of the company operates at full capacity. Hungarian bourse-listed companies have to publish their preliminary 1998 figures by February 15. On Monday Styl shares finished at 1,000 forints, unchanged from January 13, the last day when it was traded.