Dutch brewer Heineken NV first-half operating profit rose 7.4 percent, and it said on Wednesday it had managed to pass on higher costs to most markets apart from the United States, despite weaker economies. Its shares had gained 3.4 percent to 32.4 euros by 0715 GMT, outperforming the DJ stoxx food and beverages index which

The New York attorney general's office is probing the relationship between Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in connection with the sale of auction-rate securities, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the investigation. Investigators are looking at whether Fidelity's relationship with Goldman may have given the mutual fund giant an

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported. The borrowing could be needed to cover short-term cash-flow pressures caused by reimbursing depositors immediately after the failure of a bank, the paper said. The borrowed

Asian exporter shares fell on Wednesday as oil rose to $117 a barrel and developed economies sputtered, though investors found some value in energy stocks and companies dependent on domestic growth. European stock markets were expected to open little changed, according to financial bookmakers, with investor focus centered on earnings from brewer Heineken and miner

Alpha Bank, Greece's third-largest lender by market value, said first-half group net profit rose 10.9 percent to 414 mln euros, in line with market expectations. Analysts in a recent Reuters poll had forecast average net earnings of 414 mln euros. The year-on-year comparison excludes an extraordinary gain of 82 mln from the sale of Alpha's

CAIRO, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Profit-taking and a court ruling to fine 20 executives in cement companies for anti-competition practices sent Egyptian shares down on Tuesday, ending three sessions of in the green, traders said. Shares in Suez Cement last traded 3.76 percent lower to 35.86 Egyptian pounds ($6.68), while Sinai Cement fell 4.04 percent

By Matt Falloon and Christina Fincher LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) – British approvals for new home loans fell 65 percent on a year ago in July to hold near a record low and the British Bankers' Association said on Tuesday it was not expecting a housing market recovery soon. The survey added to evidence pointing