VEVEY, August 7, 2008 (AFP) - Swiss food giant Nestle said Thursday net profit had risen 6.1 percent in the first half of the year to 5.2 billion Swiss francs (3.2 billion euros, 4.9 billion dollars).

TOKYO, August 7, 2008 (AFP) - Japan said Thursday core machinery orders fell for the first time in three months, adding to fears that high oil prices and weak exports are tipping Asia's biggest economy into recession.

TOKYO, August 7, 2008 (AFP) - Japan's core machinery orders, a key gauge of corporate capital spending, fell for the first time in three months in June, official data showed Thursday in the latest sign of an economic slowdown.

TOKYO, August 7, 2008 (AFP) - Japan's core machinery orders, a key gauge of private-sector capital spending, fell a smaller-than-expected 2.6 percent in June from the previous month, the government said Thursday.

The drop reversed a 10.4 percent rise in May but was better than the market's average forecast for a fall of around 9.5 percent.

BERLIN, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - German industrial orders posted a surprise and strong fall in June, data showed on Wednesday, adding to evidence that activity in Europe's biggest economy has slowed sharply.

According to preliminary figures released by the economy ministry, orders fell by 2.9 percent in June from May when adjusted for price and seasonal effects.

BERLIN, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - German industrial orders posted a surprise, sharp fall in June, data showed on Wednesday, adding to evidence that Europe's biggest economy has weakened sharply.

FRANKFURT, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - The German radio and television broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 posted on Wednesday a second-quarter sales increase of 45.4 percent owing to the acquisition of the Luxembourg media group SBS, but said it had suffered from the weak performance of free TV activities.

LONDON, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - ITV, the biggest British commercial television network, said on Wednesday that it made a first-half net loss of 1.537 billion pounds (1.9 billion euros, 3.0 billion dollars) owing to special charges in view of an advertising downturn.

MADRID, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - Spanish industrial ouput slumped by 9.0 percent in June from the equivalent figure last year, the national statistics office Ine said on Wednesday.

The data was provided on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The Spanish economy is showing signs of serious slowdown which began with the bursting of a property bubble.

BERLIN, August 5, 2008 (AFP) - Sony has agreed to buy the 50 percent it does not already own in music giant Sony BMG from German media group Bertelsmann for an undisclosed amount, Bertelsmann said in a statement on Tuesday.

'The music company, to be called Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SMEI), will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America,' it added.