HONG KONG (March 11, 2010): Hong Kong's dominant air carrier Cathay Pacific Airways reported its best half-year earnings in two years, beating analysts forecasts, but is cautious about 2010 on premium passenger demand and oil prices. Cathay returned to profit in the six months ended December 2099, helped by the sale of part of its stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd and as air cargo recovered strongly and passenger traffic improved in late 2009.

LONDON (March 11, 2010): British state-owned bank Northern Rock, which came close to collapse three years ago, said Wednesday that losses narrowed to 257.5 million pounds (282 million euros, 383 million dollars) last year. The pre-tax loss was a large improvement after a massive shortfall of 1.36 billion pounds in 2008, the group said in a results statement.

HANOVER (March 08, 2010): Taiwan's Acer Inc, the world's No 2 PC brand, aims to grow in Germany this year and is off to a good start with first-quarter sales above the 2009 period, the head of its German unit told Reuters. "Revenues and unit sales are above last year's level in the first quarter so far," Stefan Engel said in an interview on March 02 during the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover, without providing specific figures.

COPENHAGEN (March 05, 2010): Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk said it would return to a "modest" profit in 2010, after weak global trade knocked freight rates and dragged it to a deeper loss than expected for 2009. The group's Maersk Line is the world's biggest container shipping company and is sometimes seen as a barometer of world trade, which remains depressed going into 2010.

LONDON (March 04, 2010): Standard Chartered PLC on Wednesday reported a seventh consecutive record annual profit, of $3.38 billion, as stronger wholesale banking earnings offset an increase in provisions for bad loans and other credit risks. The bank said net profit rose 4 percent in 2009 from $3.24 billion a year earlier.

LONDON (March 03, 2010): The BBC is to slash spending on its online services and close two radio stations in a shake-up designed to boost programme funding, it announced Tuesday. Digital radio stations BBC Asian Network and BBC 6 Music will close from next year as part of a review of the British Broadcasting Corporation's budget and services, said director general Mark Thompson.

DETROIT (March 03, 2010): South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co announced a sharp rise in February sales, benefiting from recall woes at rival Toyota Motor Co, which planned aggressive incentives to win back US customers. Toyota's recalls totalling some 8.5 million vehicles globally due to uncontrolled acceleration and braking glitches have hurt its reputation for quality and shone a spotlight on vehicle safety issues.

LONDON (March 02, 2010): HSBC Holdings missed expectations with a $7 billion annual profit after bad debts rose and risked a public backlash by paying three investment bankers over 9 million pounds ($13.7 million) each. Europe's biggest bank said on Monday that Stuart Gulliver, head of investment banking, would receive 9.8 million pounds ($14.9 million) for 2009, mostly in shares over the next three years.

PARIS (March 02, 2010): Vivendi, Europe's largest entertainment group, sounded a cautious note on its profit outlook for this year despite posting better than expected results for 2009, boosted by its video games and telecoms units. Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy said he expected "slight growth" on an adjusted operating profit basis this year, a change from the "strong growth" the group achieved last year.

PARIS (March 01, 2010): The French-Belgian bank Dexia said February 24 it returned to profit in 2009 after suffering a major loss in the previous year thanks in part to lower provisions for risky loans. The bank, saved from bankruptcy in 2008 by the intervention of the French, Belgian and Luxembourg governments, reported net earnings of 1.10 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) dollars in 2009 after a loss of 3.3 billion euros in 2008.