IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Audi sales rise 8.9%

German carmaker Audi AG said yesterday its global sales improved 8.9 percent in November as the recession eased and demand rose strongly in developing markets.

Audi, a unit of Europe's largest auto group, Volkswagen AG, said it sold 82,750 cars for the month, compared with 75,965 in November of 2008. For the first 11 months of the year, however, Audi's sales declined 5.4 percent to 870,600 vehicles from 920,689 in the January-November period of 2008. The gains last month were attributed especially to the Asia-Pacific and Americas markets.