DETROIT/ A top lawmaker predicted Washington would approve a bailout for U.S. automakers after they submitted survival plans, and General Motors and Chrysler said they needed an immediate infusion of cash to avoid failures.

Toyota said on Tuesday it will cut management bonuses by 10 percent as the global economic slowdown bites hard and prompts it to reduce production further in Japan.

Tata Steel unit Corus has applied for Dutch government financial aid to temporarily reduce the work hours of 4,600 workers to cope with the global economic slowdown, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Monday.

Manufacturing shrank at a record pace in November after a collapse in new orders, purchasing managers' data from Markit/CIPS showed on Monday.

The outlook for British manufacturers has deteriorated significantly over the last quarter, a survey showed on Monday, warning conditions in 2009 are set to be some of the toughest for two decades.

ArcelorMittal , the world's largest steelmaker, unveiled plans on Thursday to slash up to 9,000 more jobs, saving $1 billion (647 million pounds) a year in response to a deepening global economic downturn.

Roughly 50,000 Daimler staff face a shorter working week from January as slumping demand hits European carmakers.

Global miner BHP Billiton painted a gloomy near-term outlook for metals demand on Thursday as it defended its decision to drop a $66 billion (43 billion pound) bid for rival Rio Tinto .

Global miner Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it was confident it could sell assets worth billions of dollars to pay down massive debt, despite concerns about a lack of buyers, a day after rival BHP Billiton dropped a bid for the firm.

The UK must return to its manufacturing routes, said Business Secretary Peter Mandelson at the CBI conference.

Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover is in secret talks with the government over a 1 billion pound loan, just nine months after the Indian conglomerate Tata Group bought the luxury carmaker, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Honda Motor Co said it would build fewer cars in Japan, Europe and North America to reflect an increasingly bleak outlook for sales as the global economic crisis discourages big-ticket purchases.

Honda Motor said on Friday it would cut car output in Japan and Europe by a further 61,000 vehicles, including closing its British factory for two months in February and March, due to slowing sales.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce will shed between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs worldwide next year and is already in talks to cut 140 posts in Britain where there has been a string of job losses in recent weeks.

Insulation and roofing materials group SIG said trading in the second half had become more challenging, and it now expected its full-year result to be at the low end of market expectations.

The world's third biggest platinum producer Lonmin posted a 19 percent rise in annual underlying earnings per share on Tuesday and said it would close uneconomic operations amid falling prices.

Electrical and electronic cable assemblies firm Volex posted a half-year revenue increase of 22.8 percent, and said lower commodity prices and a stronger US dollar would help it meet expectations to end-2008.

Engineer Rotork , which makes valve control systems for the oil, gas and water industries, said its 2008 results should top market forecasts, helped by strong sales and sterling's weakness.

General Motors Corp shares plummeted to a 65-year low on Tuesday, extending recent steep declines on concerns the automaker might run desperately short of cash by early next year.

Shipbuilding and support services company VT Group on Tuesday posted a 13 percent rise in underlying half year pretax profit and said it expected full year results in its service businesses to beat its expectations.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers have cut staff for the first time in 18 months, according to a report on Monday, and more than a quarter plan to reduce headcount further as the global economy slows.

Facing a dramatic drop off in Chinese steel production, Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc will cut iron ore shipments by up to 20 million tonnes in 2008 in hopes that industrial activity in China will improve next year.

Europe's second-largest steelmaker Corus said on Thursday it planned to cut 400 jobs in its distribution business because of the economic downturn.

Engineer Tomkins said its 2008 performance would be at the lower end of current market expectations, given its end-markets have worsened considerably since its last trading update.

BMW cut production and scrapped earnings forecasts on Tuesday as quarterly profits slumped 60 percent but bombed out car shares were among top gainers as shares rallied across Europe.

MONTERREY, European Union competition authorities have started an investigation into two of the world's top cement makers, Lafarge and Mexico's Cemex.