World business news in brief: Mexico slashes interest rates

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Mexican rate cut

Mexico’s central bank slashed interest rates by three-quarters of a point Friday, to 6.75 perent. Last month, the bank lowered rates just a quarter-point, shaking investor confidence and sending the peso to record lows against the dollar.

The Bank of Mexico defended its much bigger cut Friday, arguing in a statement that the worsening global economic crisis, especially in the industrialized world, “is significantly affecting financial markets, capital flows and the development of emerging economies.”

Steel losses

European steel makers said Friday that one in six workers had lost their jobs or were working shorter hours as demand for steel had collapsed. Eurofer — a group representing ArcelorMittal SA, Corus and ThyssenKrupp AG — said 72,000 jobs, or 17 percent of the European Union’s 440,000-strong steel work force, had been hit by the downturn.

The group is asking EU governments to boost financing for steel customers — car makers and the construction industry — by giving more loans, guarantees and credit insurance.

EU summit

European Union nations have already spent enough to try to boost sluggish demand, the bloc’s leaders said Friday, calling instead for better financial regulation to restore market confidence and fix the ailing world economy.

They also raised new red flags against protectionism after French carmaker Renault SA said it was moving jobs out of low-wage Slovenia and into recession-hit France, and urged more funding for the International Monetary Fund to help countries hard-hit by the crisis.

Guarding the grape

Italy has approved rules for labeling Prosecco, putting the sparkling wine on a growing list of protected delicacies to shield their markets from imitations, officials said Friday. The decision means only Prosecco produced in the traditional northeastern Veneto region can be labeled as Prosecco.

The dry Italian bubbly is becoming increasingly popular abroad as a lower-priced alternative to Champagne and is the main ingredient of many cocktails.

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