Merger talks between United Airlines and US Airways have slowed and a deal is not expected in time for review by the merger-friendly Bush administration. Sources said the talks have not ended, but that United, which is owned by UAL Corp, is continuing its alliance talks with Continental Airlines. No comment from United and US Airways. In a report on its web site, the New York Times cited people with knowledge of the discussions, saying the talks might be revived at some point but that in recent days there had been little to no contact between the companies. Continental, which called off merger talks with United in late April, is also in advanced alliance talks with American Airlines AMR Corp and British Airways, sources have previously told Reuters.

Yesterday, LG Electronics said it was “closely watching” the GE appliance business sale and had no plans to meet with visiting GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt. Now Immelt, globetrotting around Asia, says it is eyeing up LG as a potential buyer. Just in case LG really just wants to watch, Immelt also named China’s Haier, Mexico’s Controladora Mabe and Turkey’s Arcelik as contenders, as well as Sweden’s Electrolux. “It will be very intriguing to see what happens,” said Immelt. “It will fill lots of newspaper articles … for the next 6-9 months.” Analysts may be closely watching LG’s publicly tepid interest, but are not expecting it to bid. “I doubt LG Elec would be interested in pursuing this deal, since there’s little the company can gain. There’s a lot of overlap between the businesses with little premium potential for LG,” said Steve Lee, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities. James Kim, a Lehman Brothers analyst, said LG did not have enough cash to fund a purchase and would not stand to benefit from GE’s brand equity.

Italy’s Generali dropped out of the running for Royal Bank of Scotland’s insurance arm, hours ahead of a first bid deadline, prompting speculation that interest in the asset is fading. RBS, Britain’s second-largest bank, had been expected to get interest from at least seven bidders, with Zurich Financial Services seen as the front-runner for the asset, valued at about 7 billion pounds ($13.8 billion). Rival Generali, with its hefty acquisition treasure chest, was also seen as a strong candidate. A Generali spokeswoman, however, said it had withdrawn. Generali gave no reason for its decision to pull out, but sources blamed high price expectations and RBS’s unwillingness to consider breaking off even some of the parts that make up the unit, Britain’s largest motor insurer.

Other deals of the day:

* Polish clothing retailer Vistula & Wolczanka has succeeded with its hostile bid to buy 66 percent of jeweller W.Kruk for nearly $140 million.

* French aerospace supplier Zodiac said it had agreed to buy cabin equipment manufacturer Driessen Aerospace. Zodiac did not give the value of the deal.

* Australian power producer and retailer Origin Energy is set to announce a decision within days on UK gas producer BG Group’s $12 billion takeover bid, with media reporting BG has improved its offer.

* Chinese metals trader Sinosteel said it will not increase its sweetened offer for Australian iron ore prospector Midwest beyond A$6.38 a share.

* South Korea’s largest refiner SK Energy confirmed it had agreed to buy a 35 percent stake in a joint venture with Sinopec Corp to build a petrochemical complex in central China.

* Investment company GPG said it expected to reach its target of a 35 percent stake in Tower, New Zealand’s No. 2 health insurer, based on advice received from shareholders for its partial offer.