A ROUNDUP of news in finance, economics and business from around the world:
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
PARIS - The Europe-wide scandal over horsemeat sold as beef has spread as leading French retailers pulled products from their shelves and France promised to have the results of an inquiry within days.
STOCKHOLM - Frozen food producer Findus Nordic says it will sue French firm Comigel and its suppliers after horsemeat was found in its beef lasagnes.
BUCHAREST - President Traian Basescu says he fears lasting damage to Romania's reputation if a Romanian meat supplier is found to be at fault over Europe's spiralling horsemeat scandal.
WASHINGTON - The US is vulnerable to cyberattacks that could shut down financial services or destroy information that companies need for daily operations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says.
LONDON - Scotland should keep the pound if it votes to leave the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum, First Minister Alex Salmond's economic advisers have concluded in a report due out on Monday.
LONDON - Barclays boss Antony Jenkins will attempt to break from the bank's scandal-hit past this week by announcing the closure of its tax avoidance unit and the cull of about 2000 investment banking jobs, it has been reported.
DUBAI - Dubai's Emirates Airlines says its year to March 2013 income is seen rising by 18 to 20 per cent, as the emirate officially opened the world's first concourse dedicated to Airbus A380 superjumbos.
MADRID - The Americas and Asia are the main engines of growth for Melia Hotels International, although the Spanish and European markets remain important also, the Spanish firm's vice president for development, Maria Zarraluqui, says.
WELLINGTON - Eastern Bay of Plenty electricity lines company Horizon Energy has chopped its forecast earnings because of regulation costs, buying its Aquaheat business and warned there may be more to come due to its exposure to the Mainzeal collapse.
WELLINGTON - The New Zealand dollar recovered some ground after figures showed a shrinking US trade deficit and gains on Wall Street helped stoke risk appetite.
NEW YORK - Crude oil prices closed mixed on Friday as investors weighed a big supply in the US, encouraging trade data from China and renewed tensions with Iran.
LOCAL NEWS
SYDNEY - The Australian dollar is slightly higher after China and the US both reported improvements to their international trade balances.
SYDNEY - The Australian market looks set to open lower despite gains on US and European markets at the end of the week.
BRISBANE - Several hundred coal haulage workers have ended a 48-hour strike at Australia's largest private rail freight firm Pacific National.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/breaking-news/international-financial-news/story-e6frg90f-1226575064562