IN BRIEF (Page 17)

BP beats Q3 view

BP Plc beat third-quarter earnings forecasts by a big margin as its cost-cutting program proved more successful than expected.

BP said third-quarter replacement cost net profit, which strips out unrealized gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories, fell 50 percent to $4.98 billion, due to lower oil and gas prices. Excluding one-offs, the result was $4.67 billion, compared to an average forecast of $3.16 billion from a Reuters poll of 11 analysts.