Frankfurt - BASF, the world's largest chemicals concern, posted strong growth in sales in the second quarter in results released Thursday, largely as a result of higher natural gas production.

The German-based group exceeded analysts' expectations with an 11- per-cent rise in sales over the quarter to 16.3 billion euros (25.4 billion dollars).

Bottom-line profits rose 27 per cent to 1.3 billion euros, also beating forecasts, while profits on an EBIT before special items basis rose 19 per cent to 2.4 billion euros.

Frankfurt - Germany's biggest bank Deutsche Bank AG reported Thursday a 64 per cent fall in second quarter earnings on the back of write-downs totalling 2.3 billion euros (3.6 billion dollars).

The Frankfurt-based bank said that net profit fell to 649 million euros from 1.78 billion euros in the second quarter last year.

This comes in the wake of a 311-million-euro pretax loss run up by Deutsche's key investment banking business as a result of the continuing fallout from the financial market crisis triggered by the US subprime mortgage upheaval.

Tokyo - Japan's TDK Corp plans to purchase German electronics parts maker EPCOS AG for a maximum of 200 billion yen (1.85 billion dollars), which would be one of the largest acquisitions in the industry, media reports said Thursday.

TDK hopes to boost its operations through the deal amidst harsh competition in Asia.

TDK is to launch a friendly tender offer for EPCOS shares, which are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, to make it a subsidiary by the end of this year, Jiji Press quoted informed sources as saying.

Berlin - The decline in German unemployment slowed this month, data to be released Thursday is forecast to show, as employers curbed hiring in the face of growing economic uncertainty.

The numbers of out of work in Europe's biggest economy fell by 20,000 in July analysts say Germany's Labour Office will report with the jobless rate remaining at 7.8 per cent.

The expected drop in July German unemployment comes after the numbers out of work fell by 38,000 to a 16-year-low in June of 3.27 million.

But since then, a steady steam of data and economic sentiment surveys have pointed to the nation's economy losing steam amid fears that inflation has been picking up on the back of high food and energy costs.

Berlin - German-based cash-and-carry group Metro declared a loss for the first half of the year as a result of restructuring costs in its home market.

Metro chief executive officer Eckhard Cordes said the group faced "an increasingly difficult economic environment" but nevertheless described the period as "successful" for the company.

The loss before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 130 million euros (203 million dollars) for the first half, down from a profit of 437 million euros in the same period last year.

Berlin - Germans have become more and more concerned at the rise in reports of underage drinking and cheap alcohol parties for young adults.

But German teenagers are in fact consuming less alcohol than their peers did in the 1970s, according to Germany's Federal Union for the Protection of Young Persons.

Their information is based on data produced by Germany's Federal Centre for Health Education, a public body that promotes healthy lifestyles.