Fiat may need Chrysler's help

Italy's Fiat may have to turn to its U.S. partner Chrysler for some help riding out economic headwinds, the Financial Times said Saturday. Fiat, which holds a 62-percent stake in Chrysler, is faced with a serious downturn in auto sales in Europe and is looking to Chrysler for some financial assistance. The FT said Chrysler has about $10 billion in cash Fiat could have access to in the near future. Fiat is the largest employer in Italy, but its annual sales in Italy are down by about half of what they were in 2000, and plants have cut operations to about 53 percent of capacity, Italy's ANSA news service said.