Business News: General

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Friday that second-quarter net profit grew 51 percent compared with the same quarter last year led by its liquid crystal display and mobile phone businesses.

By Charlotte Cooper and Surojit Gupta
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Emboldened by winning a confidence vote, the government is expected to revive a privatisation drive, but a looming election means it will only have time for a few small sales rather than any jumbo ones.

Kochi, July 25 (ANI): At a time when India is planning to increase its share in the world spices trade, there is no one to hear to the plight of its traditional traders and workers in the once flourishing spice trade market of Kochi. The old street of Mattancherry in Kochi has a history of over 2000 years.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ Energy Resources said Friday it expected this year to be the first Australian miner to export uranium to China more than two years after the government lifted a ban on such sales of the nuclear fuel.

HONG KONG (AP) _ Asian stock markets fell sharply Friday, as an overnight drop on Wall Street and more concerns about the U.S. housing and financial sectors led many investors to take profits after a recent rally.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares provisionally ended 3.34 percent down on Friday, led by Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

TOKYO (AP) _ Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter Friday as sales growth in new markets offset the damage from a stronger yen and soaring material costs.

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ Chinese stocks fell Friday after a larger-than-expected decline in existing U.S. home sales and worries about the financial sector triggered a sell-off on Wall Street.

TOKYO (AP) _ Japanese stocks fell sharply Friday as Wall Street's overnight plunge renewed lingering concerns about the U.S. economy.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares extended losses to more than 3.5 percent on Friday after reports of blasts in Bangalore, home to top outsourcers Infosys Technologies and Wipro.

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil extended a rebound Friday, rising above US$126 a barrel after several declines over the past two weeks, although the market remains weighed down by the belief that flagging fuel demand does not justify the recent high prices.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose slightly on Friday, finding some stability after two weeks of losses as buyers crept back into the market before the weekend.

By Natsuko Waki
LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks hit a one-week low on Friday while the dollar fell as dismal U.S. housing and jobs data fanned fresh concerns about the health of the financial sector and the broader economy.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Power on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of 612.2 million rupees ($14.5 million) on total income of 805.5 million rupees in the quarter to June 2008.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has no immediate plan to remove controls on the price and distribution of sugar, junior food minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh told reporters on Friday.

Tracking weak global cues, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex and National Stock Exchange's index Nifty slumped further on aggressive selling in midsession on Friday.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee was steady in afternoon trade on Friday as losses in local shares raised worries of more foreign fund outflows but stable global crude prices helped curb further losses.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Australia's main stock index recorded its largest one-day fall in six months on Friday after one of the country's biggest banks announced additional losses linked to the global credit crunch.

By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold gained on Friday as a rebound in oil prices restored its appeal as a hedge against inflation but dealers said the metal must crack key technical levels to sustain the uptrend.