Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting

Vienna  - Budget carrier SkyEurope reported Friday that its net loss for its business year running until the end of September more than doubled to 59.4 million euros
(77 million dollars), as results were affected by high fuel prices.

The company defaulted on an aircraft lease earlier this week and has to repay loans worth 25 million euros to US investor York Global Finance, one of its major stakeholders, by December 15.

As of September 30, the budget carrier's cash reserves amounted to 1.3 million euros, down from 11.6 million euros in 2007, SkyEurope said in its preliminary annual report.

The airline is listed on the Vienna stock exchange but operates from the Slovak capital Bratislava.

Vienna  - Austrian Airlines AG announced Friday that its losses for 2008 would amount to up to 415 million euros (538 million dollars), more than triple the previously forecast net loss of 125 million euros.

The Austrian flag carrier that is expected to be taken over by Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG in early December also said it needed interim financing until the European Commission approved the deal.

The widening of the net losses are a result of up to 200 million euros of write-offs of aircraft, which have been losing market value in the current economic climate, as well as from around 90 million euros of negative tax effects.

Vienna  - The United States' ambassador at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday in Vienna that the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor that Israel bombed in 2007 seems not to have been intended for peaceful purposes.

The suspect al-Kibar site in Syria's eastern desert was not configured for energy production, was located in a remote area and was ill-suited for research purposes, Ambassador Gregory Schulte told the 35 countries represented on the IAEA's governing board.

Vienna  - Austrian-based construction group Strabag SE reported Friday that its net profit rose by 23.9 per cent to 127 million euros (164 million dollars) in the third quarter and said that its order backlog stood at a record 13.97 billion euros.

The company's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased by 18 per cent to 177 million euros in the quarter ending in September, compared with the same period last year.

At 3.54 billion euros, revenue was up by 25.7 per cent.

Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 1.91 dollars Thursday, ahead of the cartel's meeting in Cairo on Saturday where possible further production cuts will be discussed.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC crude stood at 47.38 dollars Thursday, up from 45.47 dollars on the previous day, the Vienna-based organization said Friday.