Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words demand+global. 2 news.

After two good years Asia's airline sector is set for a possibly steep slowdown in 2008 as the global credit crunch hits consumers, dampening air travel demand, an industry group said Sunday.

Times have never been better for the mining industry. Driven by insatiable demand from an industrialising China, the industry is awash in unprecedented billions. Yet the flip side of the boom is that every nook and cranny of the infrastructure, after years of under-investment, is groaning under the strain of the round-the-clock race to dig up everything from iron ore to coal to gold and diamonds destined for ports around the world.