The four bosses of Airbus parent EADS met for closed-door talks today, days after the European defence group was hit by costly new delays to the A380 superjumbo and questions about stock sales beforehand.

French utility Gaz de France SA said today there had been a “significant deterioration” in natural gas flows from Russia, after the price dispute which led to Moscow cutting off gas supplies to neighbouring Ukraine.

THE French government is drawing up a list of key sectors it wants to shield from foreign takeovers.