Australian carrier Virgin Blue expects to go shopping for cheap aircraft amid the economic downturn after announcing it has raised A$231 million (US$190 million). Chief Executive Officer Brett Godfrey also announced he will retire next year from the airline, which has plunged into losses, partly because of its fledgling long-haul arm, V Australia. Godfrey has led Virgin Blue since it began flying in 2000.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The market for the Australian-U.S. Nulka naval decoy may be expanding by a factor of two, thanks to a prospective easing of restrictions on exports of the hovering rocket. As the system is fitted to ever-larger ships previously thought impossible to defend with decoys, there are signs that it will even go aboard the largest of all — U.S. aircraft carriers — giving them one more defense layer to add to the several that already surround them.

Air China will report a first-half profit more than 50% higher than the 1.282 billion yuan (US$190 million) it made a year earlier, the company says, attributing the improvement to lower fuel costs, stronger domestic demand and Beijing’s economic stimulus spending. Analysts say gains from fuel hedging also have contributed strongly.