General Motors sees profits surge
US automotive giant General Motors (GM) has returned to third quarter profitability, fuelled by a rise in sales both in the US and overseas.
The carmaker made a net profit of $2bn (£1.2bn) in the three months to 30 September, compared with a loss a year earlier.US automotive giant General Motors (GM) has returned to third quarter profitability, fuelled by a rise in sales both in the US and overseas.Revenues at the firm, which last week unveiled plans for a $13bn share sale, totalled $34.1bn.
GM's third quarter profit was higher than rival Ford's $1.7bn.
GM has now reported three consecutive profitable financial quarters, as it continues to turn around its fortunes.
Last year, GM needed $50bn in government assistance as it went through bankruptcy protection, and Washington still holds a 60.8% stake.
However, GM has so far repaid the government $9.5bn, and aims to pay back more through a forthcoming share issue.
For its latest quarter, GM made a strong profit in all of its global regions except Europe, where suffered a $559m loss. Its GM Europe business operates the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
GM vice chairman Chris Liddel said the firm was continuing to make "significant progress".
Car industry analyst Jesse Toprak of TrueCar.com said the carmaker was also benefiting from lower manufacturing costs and higher profit margins.
EU energy strategy envisages shared network
EU energy strategy for the next decade envisages a shared gas and electricity supply network, and the renovation of draughty buildings to cut bills.Money would come from taxpayers and energy companies themselves.
The EU hopes a shared network will protect individual member states from disputes with suppliers such as Russia.
In January 2009, several EU states saw imports of Russian gas via Ukraine cut for up to three weeks.
"By 2015, no member state should be isolated," said a European Commission statement.
'Sustainable and secure'
Correspondents note that the plan for a shared network is nothing new, but it is significant that this has been endorsed by Mr Oettinger, a German, as his country previously lobbied hard to weaken legislation.
We have to Europeanise our energy policy and focus on a few, but pressing, priorities”
End Quote Guenther Oettinger EU energy commissioner
He proposed cutting through bureaucracy to speed up permits and reduce red tape.
"Putting our energy system on to a new, more sustainable and secure path may take time but ambitious decisions need to be taken now," Mr Oettinger said in a statement."To have an efficient, competitive and low-carbon economy we have to Europeanise our energy policy and focus on a few, but pressing, priorities.
"Over the next 10 years, overall energy infrastructure investments in the EU of 1tn euros are needed."
Incentives are planned to help homeowners and local authorities renovate draughty buildings to cut fuel bills.
Recent Commission documents show EU governments are failing to develop the full potential of their renewable energy resources and will fall halfway short of an agreed EU goal of improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020.
Obama hails Indonesia as example for world
Cheers greet Obama's praise of Indonesia
US President Barack Obama has held up Indonesia as an example of how a developing nation can embrace democracy and diversity.
He was speaking in Jakarta on a visit to the world's largest Muslim nation.Mr Obama said innocent people across the world were still targeted by militants but emphasised that the US was not at war with Islam.
Analysts say it is his biggest attempt to engage the Islamic world since a speech in Cairo last year.
Mr Obama was speaking at the University of Indonesia, before an audience of 6,000 people.
'Shared values' In his address, he touched on the four years he spent in the country as a child and emphasised the importance of Indonesia's example as a growing economy and a majority-Muslim nation that is largely tolerant of other religions.
"Today, I return to Indonesia as a friend, but also as a president who seeks a deep and enduring partnership between our two countries," he said.
"Because as vast and diverse countries; as neighbours on either side of the Pacific; and above all as democracies - the United States and Indonesia are bound together by shared interests and shared values."
He also highlighted the role religion had played in Indonesia's development, praising the country's spirituality and "rich diversity".
"Just as individuals are not defined solely by their faith, Indonesia is defined by more than its Muslim population," he said."But we also know that relations between the United States and Muslim communities have frayed over many years. As president, I have made it a priority to begin to repair these relations."
He said more work needed to be done to address "the issues that have caused tensions for many years" but appealed for unity to defeat "violent extremists".
"I have made it clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam," he said.
"Instead, all of us must work together to defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion - certainly not a great, world religion like Islam. But those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy. This is not a task for America alone."
But among the kind words for his hosts, there was also a thinly-veiled swipe at China, says the BBC's Guy Delauney in Jakarta - in particular its treatment of political dissidents.
"Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty," Mr Obama said. "Because there are aspirations that human beings share - the liberty of knowing that your leader is accountable to you - and that you won't get locked up for disagreeing with them."
Mr Obama's trip to Asia covers four successful democracies - and shows the direction the US would like others to follow, our correspondent says.
Difficulties The president also revisited some of the themes he raised in his June 2009 speech in Cairo: the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Obama said Indonesia was defined by more than its Muslim population
In a reminder of the difficulties he faces on that last front, Israel decided to build more apartments for Jewish settlers in disputed East Jerusalem.Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians resumed in September after a break of almost two years but were suspended after a few weeks when a freeze on the building of Jewish settlements expired.
When Mr Obama delivered his Cairo speech he was riding a wave of goodwill, says the BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy. But since then, the mood has changed. Recent polls show that in key parts of the Muslim world his credibility has slumped.
Mr Obama had earlier addressed many of the same themes in a wide-ranging news conference with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The president's short trip has afforded him little leisure time, but before the university speech Mr Obama and his wife Michelle managed a visit to Jakarta's Istiqlal mosque, the largest in South-East Asia.
He has been forced to leave Indonesia about two hours early so his flight can outrun the volcanic ash cloud thrown up by the recent deadly eruption of Mount Merapi.
Indonesia is the second stop on his four-nation tour of Asia after India. The next stops are South Korea for the summit of G20 leaders and finally Japan.
