Frankfurt  - German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday it is launching a new subsidiary in Italy called Lufthansa Italia.

With an initial fleet of six Airbus A319 aircraft, Lufthansa Italia will offer flights from Milan's Malpensa airport to major European destinations from February 2009.

"Lufthansa Italia will position us in an important market characterised by strong demand, which also holds out opportunities for buoyant growth in the future," said Lufthansa chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber.

Stuttgart  - BMW-Sauber and Toyota announced Wednesday that they will be the first teams to unveil their cars for the 2009 Formula One season in January.

BMW-Sauber is considering rolling out its F1.09 car at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo near Valencia on January 20 with team principal Mario Theissen as well as drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica also making themselves available to the media.

Toyota will unveil its TF109 on January 15, making it the first team to introduce a new car for 2009, but has decided to do without a public presentation as a cost-cutting measure.

Stuttgart - Luxury German sports carmaker Porsche AG said Wednesday it was postponing moves to boost its stake in Volkswagen AG after a surge in VW shares and signs that the global auto industry was facing tough times.

Porsche had planned to build up a stake in VW to more than 50 per cent this year.

But Porsche chief Wendelin Wiedeking told the group's annual press conference that in the light of "the current economic circumstances, it is increasingly unlikely that we can achieve this goal in this year" with the company also warning it expects a fall in revenue as the slowdown in the world economy gains momentum.

Berlin - Berlin's foreign ministry advised Germans on Wednesday to avoid Bangkok's international airport which is under siege by anti-government protesters.

A foreign ministry spokesman said it was difficult to predict how things would develop.

Two leading German travel agents, Meier's Weltreisen und Dertours, cancelled flights to or via Bangkok for Wednesday and Thursday, affecting about 200 passengers. Thailand is a popular holiday destination for Germans.

Berlin - The leaders of France and Germany called Wednesday for a relaxation of the European Union's stability and growth pact in order to cushion the effects of the global financial crisis.

Some countries might be forced to exceed the pact's tough fiscal rules which limit new borrowing to 3 per cent of GDP, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicholas Sarkozy said.

In a joint newspaper column for Germany' Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the French daily Le Figaro, they said disputes over deficit criteria needed to be avoided in such "exceptional times."

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that 2009 would be a gloomy year for Europe's largest economy but predicted the situation would improve in 2010.

"Germany is very strong," she told parliament. It was in a position to overcome the current crisis, she said.

Merkel said an economic stimulus package announced by her government was intended to "build a bridge" for investment and employment "until an economic recovery happens."