Former BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen was today named as the new boss of troubled telecoms equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent.

The owner of European aircraft giant Airbus said today a revival in demand for passenger jets had helped it more than double its income in the first three quarters of the year.

Airbus parent EADS expects to top 305 airliner deliveries in 2004 and foresees rises beyond which the planemaker would have to increase production next year, EADS co-chief executive Philippe Camus has said.

French industrial production increased for the fourth time in six months in February, suggesting rising exports and investment are fueling a recovery from the slowest growth in a decade.

European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co NV (EADS) is to invest an initial US$11m (€15.6m) on a new Eurocopter assembly plant in Mississippi, US.