IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Auto output

Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co, Japan's three largest automakers, increased global production last month to meet demand in emerging markets.

Toyota increased global production 8.8 percent to 727,040 vehicles in April, Honda raised production 5.8 percent and Nissan increased global production 24 percent, the companies said in separate statements yesterday.

Tasty result

Northern Foods Plc, the largest UK maker of prepared meals, posted an annual profit after raising prices and selling units last year.

Net income rose to 34.5 million pounds, or 6.95 pence a share, in the year ended March 29, from a loss of 22.5 million pounds, or 4.55 pence, a year earlier, the Leeds, England-based company said yesterday.

Subscriber surge

Vodacom Group Ltd, South Africa's biggest mobile-phone operator, said subscriber numbers rose 13 percent in the year through March.

Subscribers increased to 34 million in the year, the company, jointly owned by Telkom South Africa Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc, said in a statement to Johannesburg's Stock Exchange News Service yesterday. Revenue climbed 17 percent to 48.2 billion rand ($6.26 billion).

Pegs' future

Hedge funds and investors are betting that Persian Gulf countries will break their currencies' pegs to the US dollar because of inflation in the Middle East and allow them to rise in value, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Everest Capital Ltd, a $3 billion Bermuda-based hedge fund that specializes in emerging markets, told investors in the first quarter that it thought Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would allow their currencies to strengthen against the dollar, the Journal said.

Brewer boosted

SABMiller Plc, the world's third-largest brewer, rose the most since 2005 in London trading after the Financial Times reported InBev NV is weighing a merger between the companies.

SABMiller rose as much as 8.2 percent. Leuven, Belgium- based InBev, the world's biggest brewer by sales, is considering an SABMiller deal as a "plan B" should its potential $46 billion approach to Anheuser-Busch Cos fail, the FT said on May 24, citing an unidentified source.

Gloomy outlook

Confidence among French executives and German consumers fell more than economists forecast as rising prices sapped purchasing power and raised production costs.

An index of sentiment among 4,000 French manufacturers this month slid four points to 102, the lowest in more than two years and below the predicted 105. Gfk AG's June measure of confidence among 2,000 German shoppers declined to 4.9 from 5.6 in May.

Takeover speculation

Shares in Belgian brewer InBev, the world's second-biggest by volume, lost over three percent yesterday after a newspaper reported it could start takeover talks with rival Anheuser Busch.

At 0840 GMT InBev shares were down 2.80 percent at 46.56 euros while global brewing leader SABMiller Plc jumped 7.27 percent to 1,311 pence on speculation it could be a suitable alternative for InBev should it fail with Anheuser. SABMiller declined to comment.

Bid scrapped

Icelandic investment group Baugur Group said it had abandoned its offer for Britain's Moss Bros after retailer Laura Ashley increased its stake in the menswear chain to 9.86 percent last week.

Shares in Moss Bros fell 13.2 percent to 39.5 pence at 0926 GMT yesterday, with traders saying the chances of a rival bid were slim.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/28/2008 page16)