WASHINGTON - THE White House on Sunday demanded deep restructuring from embattled US automakers as General Motors and Chrysler readied to present their plans in return for billions in government loans.

David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said the collapse of talks between GM and the United Auto Workers union underlined the gravity of the situation as Tuesday's restructuring deadline loomed.

BEIJING - BEIJING Sanyuan Foods Co, a Beijing-based dairy, said it will bid for the assets of the Chinese company at the heart of a tainted milk scandal that sickened hundreds of thousands of children and was blamed for killing six.

KUWAIT - OIL prices will not rise above US$40 (S$60) a barrel levels even if Opec cut output again by more than 2 million barrels a day at its coming meeting in March, a Kuwaiti oil official said in remarks published on Sunday.

Musa Marafie, a member of Kuwait's Supreme Petroleum Council, the top energy decision body, told local daily Annahar there is a huge surplus in the market due to non-compliance of several members with previous cuts.