Madrid - Major Spanish banking group BBVA reported Wednesday that it remained in the black after nine months this year despite the turbulence on international financial markets.

BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) said it achieved net income of 4.5 billion euros (5.6 billion dollar), down 5.4 per cent from earnings in the corresponding period of 
2007.

Spain's second-biggest bank noted that last year's earnings were bloated by extraordinary income. Adjusting for that factor, then this year's nine-month earnings would have been 9.1 per cent higher.

Detroit - Sales volumes at General Motors continued to drop rapidly in the first nine months of 2008, the ailing carmaker reported Wednesday.

Tokyo - Nippon Steel Corp on Wednesday revised upward its full-year earnings forecast, despite reporting a decline in profits for the second quarter.

Japan's largest steelmaker expects net profit to increase 7 per cent to 330 billion yen (3.49 billion dollars) for the full year that ends on March 31, up from initial projections of 255 billion yen.

The company said the upward revision was due to falling prices of row materials and crude oil.

Sales were expected to rise 11.9 per cent to 5.4 trillion yen.

For the July-September period, Nippon Steel's net profit dropped 12 per cent to 78.92 billion yen from the previous year.

New Delhi, Oct 29 : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday held a meeting at his North Block office with key regulators and policy makers, including Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on the current financial situation and to discuss further measures to tackle it.

The meeting was attended by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D. Subbarao, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman C. B. Bhave, RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan and former RBI Governor C. Rangarajan among others.

The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of a slew of measures taken by RBI and government to inject liquidity into the cash-starved system.

Mogadishu - At least 25 people have been killed in a wave of suicide car bomb attacks in Somalia, hospital officials said Wednesday.

Five near-simultaneous suicide bomb attacks, including one on an Ethiopian embassy and one on a United Nations compound, rocked the breakaway northern state of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.

Hospital officials in Somaliland told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 25 people, including two foreigners, were killed in the bombings. Around 40 wounded were also being treated.

Witness Farhaan Omaye told dpa that three near-simultaneous bombs went off in in the town of Hargeysa, Somaliland in the morning.

Brussels - Europe's biggest carmakers were holding emergency talks with the European Union's industry commissioner in Brussels on Wednesday to call for more EU support during the financial crisis.

"In today's difficult operating environment ... the European automotive industry more than ever requires a stable and predictable policy framework to ensure competitiveness and employment, while sustaining safety and environmental progress," a press release from umbrella auto organization ACEA said.

At the talks, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen was set to meet ACEA head Christian Streiff, together with the heads of major manufacturers such as Daimler, Fiat and Volvo.