IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Oz job ads slip

Australian job advertisements fell in February for the first time in 15 months while firms found the going tougher as interest rates rose and credit dried up, figures showed yesterday.

The albeit tentative signs of a softening should be welcome to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which has raised interest rates four times since August in an attempt to cool the red-hot economy and contain a nasty outbreak of inflation.

Sales boost

McDonald's Corp on Monday said same-store sales rose 11.7 percent globally in February on strong coffee sales in the United States and new sandwich offerings in Europe, sending shares up as much as 4.6 percent.

Closely watched US sales rose 8.3 percent in February, despite a slowdown in consumer spending and rising food prices, to top bearish forecasts.

Moscow gets upper hand

Moscow has usurped Paris as Europe's top market for real estate investment and development by prospective capital and rental growth in 2008, a report from the MIPIM property market trade fair showed yesterday.

The study, conducted by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said booming rental growth and a wealth of retail and office market opportunities has catapulted the Russian capital to the top of the rankings.

Profit jumps

Neuf Cegetel saw a 23 percent rise in full-year net profit and confirmed its key financial targets for 2008, France's second largest fixed-line telecoms group said yesterday.

The results could be the group's last as a stand-alone operator as it expects to receive a formal 2.05 billion-euro ($3.15 billion) offer from mobile operator SFR once the deal, announced in December, gets regulatory clearance.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/12/2008 page16)