澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-03-20（在线收听）

Industrial strife has hit British Airways after the talks between the airline and the main union collapsed. The general secretary of the union Unite says British Airways offered its workers a ridiculous deal on pay and staffing levels. The airline says it's lost more than 1.2 billion dollars in less than two years and new work practices are vital to help save the company.

The European Commission president has urged European Union member states to agree on a standby aid package for Greece as soon as possible. José Manuel Barroso says the 16 countries that share the euro currency should make individual loans to Greece in a coordinated way to help tackle its debt problems. He says the move would not break eurozone rules against bailouts.

To the markets, and US stocks have closed lower, interrupting the Dow's eight-session winning streak. European stocks also closed generally weaker though the FTSE ended at a new 21-month high. Banking stocks were spurred on after Lloyds Banking Group forecast a return to profitability.

The Asian markets finished strongly this week, with Japan's Nikkei up three quarters of a percent. And the local market closed slightly higher, with mixed results in the financial and resources sectors.

And that's the latest ABC Business News.