Budapest - A venerable Hungarian porcelain factory said Wednesday it has landed an order to make china tableware for Swedish home furnishing retailer Ikea.

Zsolnay Porcelanmanufaktura expects to sign a seven-year deal shortly to supply 5,000 tons of china a year for Ikea starting in September 2009, the MTI news agency reported.

While Zsolnay would be one of about 1,300 Ikea suppliers, the contract would be a lifeline for the loss-making 156-year-old company.

Brussels - The European Union's executive body on Wednesday called for a complete overhaul of the bloc's bitterly controversial fisheries policy, setting up a potential clash with member states.

"Short-term decision-making, coupled with irresponsible behaviour by certain parts of the industry, continue to penalize those fishermen who act for the common good. The result is a vicious circle which has undermined both the ecological balance of our oceans and the economic profitability of the sector," the European Commission said in a statement.

London - Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) confirmed Wednesday that it was in "advanced merger talks" with leading bank Lloyds TSB.

Prague - German bank Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) said it has entered the Czech market Wednesday through a takeover of a subsidiary of Austria's BAWAG Bank in the Czech Republic.

Berlin - Berlin demanded an inquiry Wednesday into why Germany's federal-government bank KfW handed over a reported 300 million euros (420 million dollars) to Lehman Brothers, only hours before the US bank failed.

Financial sources said KfW could only hope to recover about half the sum, with Lehman expected to pay 40 to 50 cents in the dollar to its creditors as it is wound up.

Other sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the bank board would ask KfW chief executive Ulrich Schroeder at a meeting Thursday to explain the blunder. Lehman's impending crash had been world news all Sunday.

Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair is to slash 400 jobs after failing to agree on wage cuts with unions, the company said Wednesday.