IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Rally to continue

US stocks, which surged the most in five years on Tuesday, will likely continue their rally this year because the "out of control" Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to save investment banks from collapse, investor Jim Rogers said.

The Fed's support is "why we're having a big rally, but that's not going to solve the problem", Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros, said. "The system is terribly corroded."

Swiss banks 'solid'

Switzerland's top banks have a solid capital base despite the writedowns triggered by the ongoing credit crisis, the country's Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz told Swiss Parliament yesterday.

"Despite the immense losses ... we can state that the two major banks have solid capital base by international comparisons," Merz said in a parliamentary session.

Economy at 'standstill'

The Japanese government yesterday acknowledged that the economy was at a standstill, lowering its assessment for the second straight month in the wake of deepening turmoil in financial markets and worries over the global economic outlook.

While the government said a moderate recovery trend was still in place, some economists warn that Japan will follow the United States into recession as volatile markets and rising raw materials costs hurt corporate activity, a key driver of growth.

Rhodia advances

Rhodia SA, France's largest maker of specialty chemicals, rose the most in four months after it entered talks to sell isocyanates units to Perstorp AB.

Rhodia climbed as much as 93 cents, or 7.3 percent, to 13.67 euros, the biggest gain since Nov. 6. The Paris-based chemicals maker and LyondellBasell Industries started exclusive talks to sell the businesses to Perstorp of Sweden, the company said yesterday.

Cereal maker rises

General Mills Inc, the second- largest US cereal maker, said third-quarter profit increased after the company raised prices and reduced production costs.

Net income rose to $430.1 million, or $1.23 a share, from $267.5 million, or 74 cents, a year earlier, the Minneapolis-based food producer said yesterday in a statement distributed by Business Wire.

UK jobless down

UK unemployment fell for a 17th month to a three-decade low in February, driven by last year's economic expansion.

Claims for jobless benefits dropped 2,800 from January to 793,500, the lowest since June 1975, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday in London. Economists expected a decline of 5,000, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists. The jobless rate stayed at 2.5 percent.

Fewer applications

Mortgage applications in the United States decreased for the fifth time in the last six weeks, led by a slump in refinancing.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to buy a home or refinance a loan fell 2.9 percent last week to 652, the lowest level of the year, from 671.1 a week earlier. The group's refinancing gauge dropped 4.6 percent, while the purchase index declined 1 percent.

Possible takeovers

Davide Campari-Milano SpA, the Italian distiller known for its bittersweet red aperitif, is studying acquisitions to expand in eastern Europe and Asia.

"Growth through acquisitions is a pillar of our expansion strategy," Chief Executive Officer Bob Kunze-Concewitz said. "At the moment, we are looking with interest at opportunities in eastern Europe and, in a more selective manner, in Asia."

Agencies

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page16)