Earnings roundup: Blackstone, Anheuser-Busch

Top stories:

NEW YORK (AP)--Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's largest private-equity funds, reports a steep third-quarter loss as the financial crisis lowered the value of its investments.

ST. LOUIS (AP)--Anheuser-Busch says its third-quarter profit fell 5.7 percent due to charges for its pending sale to InBev SA, but sales rose in the quarter and the nation's largest brewer gained market share.

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NEW YORK (AP)--Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell 84 percent from a year-ago period that included a large gain from the sale of its stake in London Stock Exchange Group.

BALTIMORE (AP)--Constellation Energy Group Inc., which is being bought by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. for about $4.7 billion, said Thursday it swung to a third-quarter loss because of volatile commodity prices and a frozen credit market.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)--Lamar Advertising Co. on Thursday said its third-quarter profit shrank about 74 percent as advertisers cut spending in the face of the economic slump.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)--Food distributor Nash Finch Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit fell 44 percent, hurt by accounting and other charges.