GERMANY

Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said on Friday that G7 financial heads would discuss exchange rates when they meet in Singapore on September 16, but he declined to say if the yen would be at the center of those talks.

Faces furrowed with concentration and biceps bulging, Lorenzo Martire and Giovanni Zorn puffed their way up the narrow streets of this medieval town, rolling the 80kg oak wine barrel ahead of them.

Faces furrowed with concentration and biceps bulging, Lorenzo Martire and Giovanni Zorn puffed their way up the narrow streets of this medieval town, rolling the 80kg oak wine barrel ahead of them.

Sebastian from Germany is looking for a high definition (HD) television set, IT engineer Armin is after a media-centre computer, software developer Jens wants a digital photoframe, and Italian civil servant Anna a new phone.

A century after they were wiped out by hunters and a burgeoning population, wolves have returned to parts of eastern Germany as factories close down, businesses fail and people move out.

German drugs and chemicals group Bayer unveiled a revamp at its agrochemicals unit after strong healthcare earnings helped the company post a 14 percent rise in second-quarter operating profit on Tuesday.

Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever NV/Plc said on Monday it agreed to sell the bulk of its frozen foods business to private equity group Permira Funds for 1.725 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

Employment in Europe appears to be rising in earnest following years of sluggish economic growth when companies either cut staff or shunned new recruits to safeguard profits.

Palm Inc., handheld computer and phone maker, will unveil a new version of its Treo smart-phone next month, striving to revive sales amid tough competition.

Qimonda AG, the DRAM spin-off of Germany's Infineon Technologies AG, raised $546 million in initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday, cutting the size of the planned sale by half.

Cisco Systems' buoyant sales outlook helped pull U.S. stock market futures higher on Wednesday, offsetting the last session's downturn after the Federal Reserve signaled a pause rather than end to interest-rate hikes and after another warning in the home building sector.

DaimlerChrysler, the third largest U.S. car manufacturer, said on Tuesday that it would retain its employee discount offer in a bid to boost declining sales.

Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, announced today that it decided to close its operations in Germany, by selling its 85 stores to a local rival, Düsseldorf-based Metro AG.

Global economic growth is strong and becoming more broadly based, the Group of Eight nations said on Monday at their summit in St Petersburg.

Under pressure from Group of Eight leaders, ministers from six key trade powers are to start intensive meetings to rescue the deeply troubled Doha round, officials said on Monday.

Sasol Ltd. will hold negotiations in July and August with interested parties to sell several of its foreign chemical units, the company said on Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran's refusal to accept an international incentives offer to negotiate curbs on its nuclear programme will force major powers to decide on Wednesday to deal with the Islamic Republic at the U.N. Security Council.

South African president Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday that fears regarding the country's financial and logistical ability to host the World Cup 2010 were untrue.

Airbus parent EADS failed to rouse its recently trampled share price on Monday after the European aerospace giant forced out two top executives blamed for a two-week crisis over A380 superjumbo production blunders.

Financial markets stalled on Wednesday as uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve will end its monetary tightening campaign kept investors sidelined, while crude oil rose above $72 a barrel on worries about U.S. gasoline supplies.

NYSE Group Inc. Chief Executive John Thain said on Friday that Deutsche Boerse could not compete strategically or financially for Euronext, the Paris-based exchange the NYSE has struck an agreement to buy.