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The number of people unemployed in Switzerland rose in October as a gloomy outlook for the world economy prompted companies to scale back their payrolls.

The seasonally adjusted number of people without jobs increased by 1,204 to 102,319 from September, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Bern said today. The jobless rate held at 2.6 percent, in line with the median of 14 economists' forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

Swiss companies may pare their workforces further in coming months as the financial-market crisis pushes up lending costs and a global slowdown hits order books. Swiss leading indicators declined to the lowest in more than five years in October. The Swiss central bank yesterday unexpectedly trimmed borrowing costs to counter a deepening economic slowdown.

“The Swiss labor market is still rather robust, but of course that won't last,'' said Dirk Faltin, a senior economist at UBS Wealth Management Research in Zurich in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The Swiss National Bank's decision to lower the key rate “was the right signal in this situation.''

The SNB yesterday trimmed its three-month Libor target by 50 basis points to 2 percent, the biggest cut in more than five years, after the Bank of England lowered borrowing costs more than economists expected by 150 basis points bad credit payday loans. The European Central Bank yesterday cut its key rate by 50 basis points.

The Zurich-based SNB said that the economic outlook has “deteriorated more severely than anticipated'' and the Swiss economy may fail to grow in 2009. The International Monetary Fund yesterday predicted economic contracts in the U.S., Japan and the economy of the 15 euro nations next year.

Adding to signs of slowdown, Swiss manufacturing contracted for a second straight month in October and exports declined for the first time in almost four years in September.

Clariant AG, the world's biggest maker of chemicals, is cutting 2,200 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce, through 2009 as it seeks to boost profitability. The Muttenz, Switzerland-based company said Nov. 4 it will need to cut costs further as slumping automotive and construction industries and slowing growth in China hurt revenue.

The unadjusted jobless rate rose to 2.5 percent in October from 2.4 percent in the previous month partly as weather-sensitive industries such as forestry and agriculture reduced their workforce. The number of open jobs increased by 369 to 14,132 from September, today's report showed.

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Yahoo Inc.’s stock price reversed its steep slide Thursday after Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer raised the possibility of renewing his attempt to buy the downtrodden Internet company.

In a presentation made at a Florida technology conference, Ballmer said a deal between Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) could "still make sense economically."

After that remark was reported, Yahoo shares soared by as much as 17%. The stock closed up $1.24, 10.6%, at $12.99.

Earlier in the session, Yahoo’s stock had sunk to $11.37 - its lowest price in more than five years and a fraction of the $33 per share that Ballmer previously offered for the Sunnyvale-based company before withdrawing the bid in a disagreement over price with Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft sought to defuse Ballmer’s comments with a statement that said the software maker "has no interest in acquiring Yahoo no checking account payday advance. There are no discussions between the two companies."

Nevertheless, many investors are still clinging to the hope that Microsoft might make another run at Yahoo as it tries to counter Google Inc.’s (GOOG, Fortune 500) dominance of the Internet search market.

The enthusiastic reaction to Ballmer’s off-the-cuff comment indicates Microsoft has more influence over the direction of Yahoo’s stock price than Yahoo’s own management team.

Yang, Yahoo’s co-founder, so far hasn’t been able to convince Wall Street that he has a plan to snap the company out of a three-year financial funk that could deepen if online advertisers curtail their spending to save money in a weak economy. 

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The dollar sank against most foreign currencies Tuesday, as the still-frozen credit markets led a majority of investors to believe the Federal Reserve will step in with rate cuts, in addition to buying loans crucial to business.

In a speech before the National Association of Business Economics in Washington on Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that the U.S. central bank may be getting ready to cut interest rates. He said the Fed will consider the appropriateness of its monetary policy given the state of the economy.

The Fed announced earlier Tuesday it would take action to backstop the commercial paper market, by purchasing companies’ short-term debt. That sparked more speculation that the bank needs to cut rates in its meeting Oct. 29 - or even before that in emergency action.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, futures indicated a 48% chance that the Fed will lower its rate to 1.5% from 2%, and the futures showed a 58% chance that the rate will be cut to 1.25%.

The U.S. central bank could choose to lower its key funds rate, which is a rate banks charge other banks to borrow money, in an attempt to further encourage lending and thereby return the normal flow of credit to businesses.

But rate cuts are also inflationary, worrying dollar investors that their investments will devalue over time as the Treasury prints more money.

Euro: Due partly to these concerns, the euro traded at $1.3615 as of 4 p.m. ET. That’s up from $1.3498 on Monday. At one point on Monday, the euro hit $1.3443, the lowest level the currency has seen since Aug. 20, 2007.

But while investors seem to expect the United States to cut rates, they aren’t quite holding their collective breath yet for Europe to do the same.

"The European Central Bank hasn’t sent a clear signal that it will decrease rates anytime soon," said Rivera, currency strategist with Forex Capital Markets. "The much higher expectations that the Fed will cut rates are weighing on the dollar."

British rate cut: Speculation is brewing, however, about a possible rate cut in the U (paydayloans).K. when the Bank of England meets on Thursday, which held the British pound back a bit from achieving the same gains that the euro saw.

At 4 p.m. ET, the British pound bought $1.7483, up from Monday’s $1.7438 level. At one point Monday, the U.K. currency sank as low as $1.7335, the lowest point the pound has seen since March 13, 2006.

Yen: The dollar fell 0.6% against the yen to ¥101.31 after a historic collapse the day before. The dollar fell as low as 4.8%, or ¥100.23 during Monday trading - the biggest one-day drop ever. The dollar recovered a bit from hitting a 6-month low, ending the day at ¥101.82.

The yen was actually down as much as 1% earlier in the day when Australia’s central bank slashed rates early Tuesday and ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank would continue to provide liquidity to financial institutions for as long as needed.

The yen typically increases when investors show aversion to risk.

But the Fed’s plans may be a long-term positive for the dollar. With global economies struggling, the United States may in fact have the best chance to recover first.

"It’s a coin flip," said Rivera. "If they have to take measures like this, it may heighten concerns, but the whole concerted effort can be seen as a bottom, and we may start seeing buyers come into the market with confidence that the credit crisis is almost over."

In fact, the euro and pound had been much higher against the dollar before Bernanke’s speech. One analyst says some investors were encouraged that the rate cuts will eventually help the economy.

"There is some reassurance coming back into the marketplace," said Garreth Sylvester, senior currency strategist with HFIX. "Bernanke said he was confident in the measures taken to stifle current climate, and suggested the Treasury’s [financial rescue] plan may be enough." 

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The subprime mortgage meltdown and resulting rippling repercussions have a brief, but dramatic, history.

Feb. 7, 2007 - HSBC announces it will see larger than anticipated losses from rising defaults of subprime mortgages in the United States, the first major bank to make an announcement about rising losses in the sector. While the announcement gets little attention at the time, subprime mortgages soon become a watch word along Wall Street and in financial news.

April 2, 2007 - New Century Financial, one of the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lenders files for bankruptcy court protections, cutting 3,200 jobs, or 54% of its remaining work force that had already been scaled back in previous weeks as it stopped accepting new loans.

June 2007 - Two hedge funds run by Bear Stearns that had large holdings of subprime mortgages run into large losses and are forced to dump assets, with the trouble spreading with major Wall Street firms such as Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) which had loaned the firm money.

Sept. 18, 2007 - The Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates, citing the credit crunch on Wall Street and in the broad economy. The nation’s central bank will make cuts at seven straight meetings, including one emergency meeting, before it pauses. It also agrees to start loaning money directly to Wall Street firms, rather than only to commercial banks, and to accept troubled mortgage-backed securities as collateral.

July 11, 2008 - The FDIC takes over IndyMac, a California bank that had been one of the leading lenders who made home loans to people who did not provide proof of their income no fax payday advances. The failure may turn out to be the most expensive in U.S. history, but FDIC warns that more bank failures lay ahead.

March 16, 2008 - JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquires troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, in a deal engineered by the Federal Reserve, which agrees to provide up to $29 billion in financing to cover potential Bear Stearns losses that JPMorgan agrees to assume.

Sept. 6, 2008 - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announces a takeover of Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500), putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants that own or back more than $5 trillion in mortgages. The Treasury Department agrees to provide up to $200 billion in loans to the cash-starved firms that are crucial sources of mortgage funding for banks and other home lenders.

Sept. 15, 2008 - Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) agrees to acquire Merrill Lynch, in a deal joining one of the nation’s largest banks with one of the its largest brokerage firms, for up to $50 billion. Deal comes after talks to have Bank of America buy Lehman Brothers, another money-losing Wall Street firm, fall through. Unable to find a buyer, Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy court protection. 

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Prices surged by as much as 20 cents a gallon at some Houston-area gas stations as Hurricane Ike bore down on the Gulf coast.

"There are clearly some service stations in the Houston area that have hiked prices by 15 to 20 cents a gallon, there’s no question about that," said AAA spokesman Dan Ronan. "But I think there are a lot of service stations that are being very responsible."

The majority of gas stations in Texas showed only moderate increases, or even decreases, according to the AAA fuel gauge, which bases its data on credit card swipes at some 100,000 gas stations nationwide.

Gasoline prices rose Friday for the third straight day, according to the nationwide survey, as Hurricane Ike’s approach to the Texas Gulf Coast shut oil drilling and refining in the region. The average price of regular unleaded gasoline edged up 0.4 cent to $3.675 a gallon from $3.671 a day earlier, AAA said.

In Texas, where the storm is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday, the average price rose 0.9 cent to $3.546 a gallon.

In three coastal areas that could be affected by the storm, the average price rose 4.4 cents in the Houston area, but was only up 0.2 cent in Galveston and down 0.5 cent in Corpus Christi.

Ronan, who is based in Irving near Dallas, said that Houston-based AAA staffers have reported the 20 cent increases at some gas stations, but they’re in the minority. Likewise, he said the reports of stations running low on gas in coastal Texas are scattered and isolated.

"There have been anecdotal reports about service stations running low on fuel and that’s to be expected," said Ronan guaranteed approval cash advance loans. "The good thing is that it seems as though the state and delivery systems have gotten a lot better since Katrina."

Prices have trended higher in the Midwest and Southeast partly due to production delays caused by Hurricane Gustav, said Tom Kloza from Oil Price Information Service, which provides the data for AAA. He noted that prices are expected to continue rising as Hurricane Ike churns through the Gulf of Mexico.

Nationwide, Alaska and Hawaii remained the two states with gas prices still tracking above $4 a gallon; Alaska at $4.393 and Hawaii at $4.336, AAA said. The cheapest gas continues to be found in New Jersey, where prices averaged $3.40 a gallon.

Gas remains about 10.7%, or 43.9 cents, below the record high average of $4.114 that AAA reported July 17. It’s down 11.2 cents in the past month, but up 86.7 cents from a year ago.

Going forward, Kloza said Friday would be a "wild day" for gas prices, since some refineries - not just in coastal Texas but also inland Louisiana - have shut down in preparation for Hurricane Ike.

He said the nationwide average for gas prices could break the July 17 record as a result of the hurricane, but even if that happens, they would stabilize by October.

Oil prices rose Friday on concern about the storm. Thursday’s $100.87 settlement was the lowest since March 24. 

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Kerry Killinger is out as CEO of Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest thrift, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Killinger will be succeeded by Alan Fishman, who is chairman of Meridian Capital Group, a New York-based commercial mortgage broker, according to the paper. Prior to that, Fishman served as president and chief operating officer of Sovereign Bank (SOV, Fortune 500), which is the nation’s second-largest thrift and based in Philadelphia.

Wamu’s shares have lost 85% of their value in the last year, and Killinger has said that the company could sustain losses of between $12 billion and $19 billion, according to the Journal. The thrift does a lot of business in states that have seen housing prices fall sharply, and holds over $50 billion in risky option adjustable-rate mortgages.

In April, the private equity firm TPG (formerly Texas Pacific Group), led a $7 billion capital infusion into Wamu (WM, Fortune 500), according to the paper, and some analysts believe the thrift will need more than that faxless payday advance.

Throughout the turmoil, the company’s board backed Killinger, who has been at the helm since 1990. But in June he was stripped of his title as chairman.

Fishman will receive a $10 million signing bonus including $2.5 million in performance based stock awards, according to the Journal, as well as a salary of $1 million and options to buy five million shares.

Killinger will retire with no extra severance benefits, the paper reported. He currently has $5.2 million in common stock, $14.9 million in deferred compensation and $3.5 million in pension benefits. 

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U.S. communications equipment maker Ciena Corp (CIEN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slashed its outlook on Thursday due to phone companies delaying purchases amid a weak economy, triggering a 24 percent fall in its shares.

The company, which posted a 59 percent fall in quarterly profit, warned that many phone service providers were delaying orders as they reconsidered their capital spending plans.

Ciena sells optical switches and other products that support Internet protocol networks to top U.S. phone companies such as AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Ciena said it did not think it was the only one suffering order delays, and its warning dragged down shares in other telecommunications equipment vendors like Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and Juniper Networks Inc

(JNPR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) easy fast cash.

“The macroeconomic environment gives them a pause for thought, for greater capex scrutiny,” Chief Executive Gary Smith said in a phone interview, adding that customers were not canceling projects or orders but taking more time in their buying decisions.

“I think they’re just being prudent and reflective of the concerns in the global macroeconomic world.” he said.

Ciena forecast revenue in its current, fiscal fourth quarter in a range of $190 million to $210 million, dramatically below the market’s forecast of $264 million, according to Reuters Estimates. 

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Russia could cut poultry and pork import quotas by hundreds of thousands of tons, the country’s agriculture minister said Wednesday. The move could hit American producers hard and comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the war in ex-Soviet Georgia.

"It is time to change the quota regime and reduce imports, which have unfortunately built up in recent years," Alexei Gordeyev told reporters, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

He said domestic producers could make up the shortfall if imports were reduced.

Any substantial cuts would likely have a significant impact on U.S. poultry producers, for whom Russia is the biggest market. Russians sometimes refer to U.S. poultry imports as "Bush’s legs," a reference to the frozen chicken shipped to Russia amid economic troubles following the 1991 Soviet collapse, when the current U.S. president’s father was in office.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin backed proposals to freeze some of the agreements - particularly in agriculture - relating to its efforts to join the 153-member World Trade Organization. Officials claim Moscow agreed to certain conditions with member countries in return for their help in fast-tracking Russia’s entry.

"Agreements signed more than three years ago as part of the negotiations on WTO accession are unfortunately no longer in Russia’s interests," said Gordeyev. "To put it mildly, we’ve been deceived."

Last month, Russian and U.S. lobbyists agreed in principle to cutting poultry imports to Russia starting in 2009.

U.S. producers supply nearly 75% of the total poultry import quota set by Russia, which stands at 1.2 million tons.

An analyst said Russia’s timing was no coincidence.

"It has been on the agenda for some time," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib bank in Moscow. "But the fact that it has been mentioned now is almost certainly linked with the rhetoric that we’ve had from Georgia, and from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. …It has just been accelerated as a result of current events."

Russian forces drove deep into U.S. ally Georgia earlier this month. Moscow has kept troops in the Caucaus nations despite Western protests and on Tuesday ignored President Bush’s exhortation against recognizing the independence of two Georgian separatist regions.

American meat producers are increasingly looking to international markets as a way to offset domestic sluggishness, so any cuts could hurt them pay day loan. They’re grappling with high production costs and an oversupply of meat on the U.S. market, which is keeping prices down.

Analysts say that American meat producers have to grow overseas - where a weak U.S. dollar has made their products more attractive - to stay profitable. For many, Russia is key.

Russian cuts could greatly affect Tyson Foods Inc (TSN, Fortune 500)., the world’s largest meat company. Russia represented 17% of the $1.4 billion worth of chicken sales made internationally last year by the Springdale, Ark.-based company. Russia ranked second only behind Mexico in Tyson’s top international markets for its poultry.

Tyson did not immediately return a call for comment.

Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council said that a decline in Russian imports of U.S. poultry has been expected for a while, since Russian’s own poultry production has increased dramatically in recent years, while the country’s consumption has remained stable.

When asked if decreased exports to Russia would hurt U.S. poultry producers, Sumner pointed out that the industry is opening new markets that could fill a potential void, including China and Ukraine.

"I don’t think we’re anticipating it’s going to be at a level that’s going to be a big problem," he said.

Overall, poultry imports account for nearly 40% of Russia’s total consumption, and pork around 30%. The government has pursued a policy to prop up its agriculture industry in recent years, making efforts to attract domestic and foreign investment into a sector which has suffered from massive lack of investment in past decades.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the Group of Eight nations earlier this year that Russia had a key part to play in addressing the global food crisis. He said that in the long term, Russia would significantly increase its agricultural production and supplies to the domestic and foreign markets.

But analysts say it will take Russian producers time to plug the gap left by foreign producers. It could take up to two years for domestic supply to match demand, pushing up prices in the process, said Natalia Zagvozdina, an analyst at Renaissance Capital investment bank. 

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French nurse-trainer France Lio used to peel vegetables over the fliers from Kaufland, a supermarket in nearby Germany. Now, as food costs surge, Kaufland's come-ons are luring her across the border with the promise of much lower prices than at home.

“It's the second time we've come here,'' said the 55-year- old Strasbourg resident, who made the five-minute drive to Kehl, Germany, with her husband. “We found alcohol-free beer that's 2 1/2 times cheaper than in France, fruit juices that cost 90 cents ($1.40); they are more than a euro at home. We'll be back.''

While fierce retail competition limits price increases in Germany, France's heavily regulated market — with rules for everything from store size to allowable price cuts — has resulted in higher costs for customers. French inflation has outpaced Germany's every month so far this year, reaching a 12- year high of 3.7 percent in May.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is trying to loosen the rules, making it easier to build supermarkets and letting retailers and suppliers negotiate prices more freely. Lawmakers yesterday approved a measure, which must still clear the Senate.

“Prices in supermarkets have increased more in France than in almost all other European countries,'' Sarkozy said in a nationally televised interview in April. “That's not normal.''

Germany is the cheapest country in Europe for international grocery products, according to ACNielsen's 2007 report. The Netherlands is also cheaper than France.

Pepsi and Palmolive

At a Cora supermarket near Strasbourg, a bottle of Palmolive dishwashing liquid costs 1.73 euros, almost double the 95 cents at Kaufland. In Germany, a pack of six Pepsi Max bottles costs 3.54 euros, 28 percent less than in France.

In towns near the border, 65 percent of products were 15 percent to 30 percent cheaper in Germany than in France, according to a study released in May 2007 by Euro-Info- Consommateurs, a Franco-German consumer association. French shoppers account for 50 percent of retailers' sales in Kehl, where the association is based.

In the parking lot of a Lidl outlet, Germany's second- largest discount supermarket chain, nine out of 10 cars were from France. Frederique Mengus, 41, a French secretary, says she shops there, even though the retailer has a store in Strasbourg, because “there is more choice, better quality and the prices seem lower.''

`Obliged to Adjust'

A proliferation of discounters in Germany is helping to limit price increases. “Discounters have played a very important role in Germany for the past 10 to 15 years,'' said Martine Merigeau, the director of Euro-Info-Consommateurs 500 fast cash. “Competitors have been obliged to adjust.''

According to a report compiled for the French government, “maxi-discount'' stores have a 30 percent market share of the food-retail sector in Germany, against 13 percent in France, where opening a store larger than 300 square meters requires a local commission's authorization.

Lineaires, a retail trade magazine, found that 59 percent of discounters' requests were approved in 2007, compared with 75 percent for classic supermarkets and 78 percent for so-called “hypermarkets,'' sprawling stores common in French suburbs.

`Green Light'

The country's four biggest retailers share 66 percent of the market, the Finance Ministry says. To spur competition, the government's bill would raise the surface for which a permit is needed to 1,000 square meters.

Carrefour SA's Ed discount chain “will use the green light'' and says it plans to open 50 stores this year. Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA has said it wants to double the number of its LeaderPrice discount stores in five years.

The government's bill “is potentially good, but the current parliament discussion is reducing the scope of the reform,'' said Gilles Moec, an economist at Bank of America in London.

Owners of small neighborhood stores are lobbying lawmakers, concerned that the discounters will take away business. The government has agreed to amendments granting mayors more power, such as the right to preemptively take over retail space in town centers.

The bill also allows for price negotiations between producers and retailers. Currently, manufacturers have to sell their products to all stores at the same price, and retailers are forbidden from selling goods below cost. They make money on rebates from producers for attractive shelf placements or prominent displays in catalogues.

More Competition

“We want to introduce more competition,'' government spokesman Luc Chatel said at a press conference on April 28. The government's plan may cut consumer prices by 1.6 percent within three years, he said.

Meanwhile, French consumers continue to head for the border. “We have to restrain ourselves on even essential things,'' said Marie-Rose Heini, a 63-year-old retiree who shops in Kehl's Edeka supermarket. “We are told to eat five fruits and vegetables a day, but no one can afford that.''

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Chinese power plants are running out of coal, with less than a three-day supply in some areas, the government said Tuesday, adding to China’s logistical headaches following a devastating earthquake.

It is the second time in three months that Chinese power plants have run short of coal, an unintended effect of government-mandated price controls — a throwback to communist central planning — to shield the public from rising global energy costs.

Some 32 power plants have already shut down due to lack of fuel, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a report. It said two were in Sichuan province, where last week’s magnitude 7.9 quake damaged the power supply grid.

In February, freak snowstorms caught power plants without adequate coal supplies, causing blackouts and factory shutdowns in a country that relies on coal for 70% of its electricity.

Utility companies have let coal stocks dwindle and are buying less fuel after Beijing froze power prices last year, while allowing the market-set costs that producers pay to rise.

The SERC gave no indication as to how Beijing might respond to new shortages. An employee who answered the phone in its press office referred questions to the Cabinet’s National Development and Reform Commission. The NDRC did not respond to requests for comment.

The government created an agency this year to oversee energy policy, but it has yet to take any action.

Beijing has also frozen retail prices of gasoline and diesel. That helped farmers and the urban poor, but it has spurred sales of gas-guzzling luxury cars and propelled double-digit annual growth in fuel consumption.

Oil refiners say they are suffering heavy losses and some began cutting production last year, causing fuel shortages in parts of China’s south.

Power plants in the eastern province of Anhui have less than a three-day supply of coal, while those in Beijing have about a week supply, the electricity agency said. The recommended minimum is 15 days; a seven-day supply is considered dangerously low.

In Sichuan province, where the May 12 quake killed tens of thousands of people, power plants have only a seven-day supply of coal, according to the agency advance america cash advance. It said two plants have none.

The quake’s effect on coal supply was not addressed in the report, but the NDRC says 200 coal mines in Sichuan were closed for inspection after the disaster.

China’s power use is growing at double-digit annual rates, driven by a boom that saw the economy expand by 10.6% in the first quarter of this year.

On Tuesday, a U.S. official urged Beijing to join the International Energy Agency — a group of major oil consumers that includes the United States and European governments — and aid its efforts to keep petroleum markets stable in times of crisis.

"I believe it is important for China and other key economies in the world, such as India, to prepare to eventually join the IEA as full members," Daniel S. Sullivan, an assistant U.S. secretary of state, said at a business conference.

China’s surging energy demand, and its potential impact on prices, has stirred unease abroad as state companies scour Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere for more.

The 27-nation IEA coordinates the release of petroleum from national stockpiles to stabilize prices if crises threaten to disrupt supplies, Sullivan said. He said that was last done in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

Sullivan, who is the U.S. envoy to the Paris-based IEA, said Beijing was invited to take part in an emergency response exercise next month. He urged the government to accept.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry referred questions about whether Beijing might join the IEA to the NDRC, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

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