LONDON — British Airways cabin crew launched a new five-day strike yesterday as a dispute with management over pay and working conditions dragged on with no sign of any breakthrough.

Many flights to and from London's Heathrow — Europe's busiest airport — were affected by the walkout. But the airline insisted it could operate more than half of its services because more cabin crew than expected had decided to cross the picket line.

Cabin crew walked off their jobs May 24 for five days and began the new round of strikes yesterday after talks collapsed Friday. They plan to strike for another five days beginning June 5, if a solution to the long-running dispute is not found.

FED MUST DECIDE WHEN TO HIKE RATES

WASHINGTON — The task ahead for the Federal Reserve and other central banks is deciding when to start boosting interest rates and reeling in all the stimulus pumped out during the global financial crisis, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. However, he didn't provide any new clues on that front.

Central bank officials "will have to weigh the risks of a premature exit against those of leaving expansionary policy in place for too long," Bernanke said in prepared remarks to a conference in Seoul, South Korea.

WALMART ANNOUNCES BIG MARKDOWNS

NEW YORK — Walmart is counting on $1 ketchup and sub-$4 cases of Coke to get its low-price mojo back.

The sharp cuts at its U.S. Wal-Mart stores, which came ahead of Memorial Day weekend, have already pushed rivals such as Target into price wars. And the markdowns are expected to keep coming throughout the summer.

They're one of the moves the world's largest retailer is making to turn around sluggish business at its U.S. namesake chain and win back shoppers from rivals. The cuts aren't across the store but target 22 foods and other essentials at an average savings of 30 percent.