Amsterdam - The main index at the Amsterdam stock exchange AEX gained slightly (up 1.44 per cent) Wednesday morning. By 10:19 am (0819 GMT) the index stood at 336.21.

Amsterdam - An increasing number of Dutch nationals fear a financial crisis following the recent financial problems in the United States and with Benelux insurance and banking giant Fortis, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Polling agency Maurice de Hond said some 72 per cent of respondents said they thought these financial problems will have an impact on the Netherlands.

A total of 38 per cent said they fear the Dutch Stock Exchange may crash. Two weeks ago, a poll found 44 per cent of the Dutch feared a financial crisis while 23 feared a stock exchange crash.

The number of Dutch who fear to lose their savings deposited in Dutch banks, remained unchanged at 12 per cent, according to the poll.

Amsterdam - The Belgian-Dutch insurer and banking giant Fortis has bought all shares of British Artemis Asset Management Ltd, Fortis said Wednesday.

The 397.2-million-euro (559.27-million-dollar) transaction was the last step in the integration of Artemis.

Artemis was already 67.1-per-cent owned by ABN Amro Asset Management, which was fully taken over by Fortis in April.

The last shares were purchased from the management, which, according to Fortis, would remain involved with Artemis.

Fortis said the purchase was part of an earlier agreement.

Washington, Oct 1: The brain, just like muscles, works harder during strenuous exercise and is fuelled by lactate, rather than glucose, according to a study by researchers from Denmark and The Netherlands.

According to the authors, not only does this finding help explain why the brain is able to work properly when the body's demands for fuel and oxygen are highest, but it goes a step further to show that the brain actually shifts into a higher gear in terms of activity.

Amsterdam - The Green Party has requested that the Dutch parliament convene an emergency session Tuesday afternoon to debate the financial crisis and government support for Belgian-Dutch insurer an

Amsterdam  - Analysts feared another black day on the Dutch stock exchange on Tuesday after the US House of Representatives rejected a rescue plan for the US financial sector.

Speaking on Dutch television early Tuesday, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos called the US rejection of the rescue plan a "heavy blow."

On Monday, Belgian-Dutch bank and insurance giant Fortis lost 23 per cent of its share value despite the takeover of 49 per cent of the bank by the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.