Dubai's budget carrier flydubai, which began operations in 2009, said Wednesday it posted a net profit of $41.4 million in 2012, in its first-ever announced financial results.

"Net profit for the year was 151.9 million dirhams ($41.4 million)," said the sister-firm of Emirates in a statement released at a press conference, putting total revenues in 2012 at 2.278 billion dirhams ($756 million).

Sanctions by the West on Iran succeeded in slashing Iran's oil export revenue by $40 billion in 2012, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, as production last month hit a three-decade low point.

The IEA, the oil monitoring and policy arm of the OECD, said Iranian oil output fell to 2.65 million barrels per day in January, down from the 3.7 mbd in late 2011 before the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the U.S. and European Union took effect.

Debt-burdened carrier Bahrain Air grounded all flights Wednesday after announcing plans to shut down operations and sell its assets amid struggles to rebound from the Gulf nation's unrest-driven downturn and competition with bigger rivals.

The small, privately run airline is among the most high-profile corporate victims from Bahrain's political crisis that erupted two years ago. The pro-democracy uprising by majority Shiites brought a sharp economic slump, but the kingdom's Sunni rulers claim growth is returning.

President Barack Obama warned Tuesday that the looming budget cuts threatened by some of his opponents in Congress would jeopardize military readiness and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"That's why Democrats, Republicans, business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts, known here in Washington as 'the sequester', are a really bad idea," Obama said, in his annual State of the Union address.

Australia's largest lender Commonwealth Bank on Wednesday posted a one percent rise in first-half net profit to Aus$3.66 billion (U.S.$3.77 billion), sending its shares to an all-time high.

The bank's result for the six months to December 31 was up from Aus$3.62 billion in the same period the previous year.

Widespread blackouts have caused economic losses of around $22 billion for Syria nearly two years into a spiralling conflict, electricity minister Imad Khamis has said.

"Economic damage suffered as a result of power blackouts caused by acts of sabotage (by rebels) have totalled some 218 billion Syrian pounds," or $22 billion, state news agency SANA quoted Khamis as saying on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday dropped plans for a fresh $1.0-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund following disagreements over how the money should be spent, the central bank said.

The government announced last month that it was seeking a new cash infusion from the IMF after drawing down a previous $2.6-billion bailout loan six months ago.

French President Francois Hollande's visit to India this week is dominated by trade issues, including a $12-billion deal for Rafale fighter jets, nuclear energy and potential tie-ups for new metro lines.

Hollande will be accompanied by five ministers including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The chiefs of more than 60 top French companies will also join him for the two-day trip starting Thursday.

American Airlines and U.S. Airways are close to striking a merger deal that would create the largest airline in the United States in the latest bout of consolidation in the U.S. aviation industry.

Officials from the two companies declined to comment, but The Wall Street Journal reported that their boards are scheduled to meet separately on Wednesday, and a deal could be disclosed by Thursday.

Jacob Lew, nominated to replace Timothy Geithner as U.S. Treasury Secretary, will miss this week's G20 ministerial meetings in Moscow, the Treasury said Monday.

Lew, previously White House chief of staff, is still awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate for the Treasury post.