Tokyo - Japanese securities house Nomura Holdings Inc has reached a basic agreement to purchase Indian units of failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, Japan's Nikkei business daily said Friday.

The Nikkei reported that Nomura, Japan s biggest securities firm, would take over the information technology development and back-office operations of Lehman Brothers as well as more than 2,000 employees in India.

London - British retail giant Marks & Spencer reported Thursday a steep fall in sales over the summer months in a further sign of the economic downturn, figures showed.

Zurich - Swiss banking giant UBS said Thursday it managed to produce a "small profit" in the just-ended third quarter of 2008 and that its financial position is steadier with no further asset writedowns foreseen.

The brief statement came ahead of an extraordinary general meeting at which shareholders will vote on new appointments to the board of directors.

UBS chairman Peter Kurer in his remarks said 2009 would be a profitable year. He said the bank's risk positions in US mortgages had been "significantly reduced" chiefly after selling mortgage- related securities.

Hong Kong - China has clamped down on permits to visit Macau after seeing huge amounts of money flood into casinos in the resort, some of them American-owned, a news report said Thursday.

Wellington - China's free trade agreement with New Zealand, in effect as of October 1, has Tuesday raised food safety worries following the recent tainted milk scandal.

"Serious concerns have been raised about the safety of food products from China, in light of the infant baby formula debacle and concerns over melamine contamination of White Rabbit sweets and other milk products," said Green Party lawmaker Sue Kedgley in a statement.

London  - Britain's leading supermarket chain Tesco provided a rare piece of good business news Tuesday by reporting a rise in half-yearly profits despite the tough retail environment.

Tesco said group profits up to the end of August rose by 11.3 per cent to 1.43 billion pounds (2.64 billion dollars), compared with the same period last year.

The increase was driven by robust international sales, Tesco said. The group has over the past few years set up stores in eastern Europe, Asia, China, and even the US.

In Britain, surveys have shown that the credit crunch is making customers turn away from "upmarket" retail chains to beat rising food prices.