IBT Staff Reporter

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing said on Tuesday current trading was meeting expectations, as it met forecasts with a 3.4 percent rise in first half profit.

The FTSE 100 index was flat on Tuesday as markets awaited Wednesday's Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, and with British Energy a standout loser on fears over repairs to two of its nuclear generators.

Toshiba Corp. said on Tuesday it would replace about 340,000 laptop computer batteries worldwide, the third recall of faulty batteries made by Sony Corp. in less than 40 days.

Construction firm John Laing Plc said on Tuesday it had agreed to a takeover bid from fund manager Henderson Equity Partners valuing Laing around 886.9 million pounds.

The Kenyan government has said that two Indian telecommunications firms had shown interest in bidding for the second national telecom operator (SNO) licence.

Technological changes and personal privacy have been at odds ever since modern notions of privacy emerged more than a century ago. Numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that 'what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the housetops', wrote two Boston lawyers in 1890 in a seminal paper that articulated the modern right to be left alone that is the basis of U.S. privacy law.

Africa must develop its rural towns and give local authorities more power in order to ease a strain on cities which are creaking under heavy growth, officials and international planners said on Monday.

World economic growth may be cresting after the strongest showing in three decades, making it imperative that countries revive global, market-opening talks to tap the benefit of expanded trade, the head of the IMF said on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe's citizens struggled to pay sharply higher prices for basic foodstuffs on Monday after official data showed inflation hit a new record in August. Prices surged further over the weekend after news on Friday that Zimbabwe's annual inflation, the highest in the world, rose to 1,204.6 percent last month.

Increased Chinese involvement in Africa should be welcomed, former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano said on Monday, dismissing accusations that Chinese policies can encourage human rights abuses.

U.S. coal firm Peabody Energy Corp. raised its bid for Australia's Excel Coal Ltd. by nearly 12 percent to A$2 billion ($1.5 billion), but speculation about a rival offer pushed Excel shares above Peabody's new offer price.

Namibia's main mobile phone operator, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), 34-percent owned by Portugal Telecom, plans to launch third generation services and Siemens will build the network.

Global economic integration could come apart if rich countries continue to hoard its benefits from the developing world, economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said in an interview.

While the prospect is considered all but impossible, a surprise interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this week would likely trigger a calamitous sell-off in the short end of the Treasury bond market.

U.S. and Chinese standards groups are collaborating to launch a standards Web site designed to boost trade between the two countries.

Sony and digital music database provider Gracenote said on Monday customers should update software to prevent hackers from breaking into their personal computers.

EMC, the information management and storage company, announced the completion of another acquisition on Monday, adding Massachusetts-based Network Intelligence to its fold.

Today Burren Energy the independent oil and gas exploration and production company, announced in a statement its interim results for the six months ended June 2006.

GlaxoSmithKine plc has announced today the submission of a New Drug Application to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for approval to market.

BP Plc announced today that its Thunder Horse field in the Gulf of Mexico will probably not begin production until mid 2008.

Norwich Union has announced that it will be adding 29 funds to the Portfolio investment bond.

Researchers at Intel Corp. and the University of California, Santa Barbara, have announced a breakthrough in computer-chip communications, potentially paving way for ultra-fast computers in the future.

The Rover brand name is to be bought up by Ford Motor Co., from BMW, it was announced today.

Adobe Systems Inc. is preparing the latest versions of its Creative Suite software package, and flagship Acrobat file-sharing product, marking the company's first major product release since its Macromedia acquisition.

British Gas today launched a campaign to reduce energy waste in UK households by one billion pounds

BP Plc is carrying out a global review of its safety regulations following a refinery explosion last year.

Yahoo Inc. plans a new integrated marketing campaign in U.S. and overseas markets that includes television, radio, cinema and online advertising, the Internet media company said on Monday.

South African refiner SAPREF has delayed the full start-up of its 180,000 barrels per day plant in Durban until the beginning of October, extending its shutdown to more than three months, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

Sudan is expected to agree to an extended African Union peacekeeping mandate in Darfur when African foreign ministers meet in New York on Monday, a presidential adviser said.