Harry L Frieze

The Hong Kong high court on Monday ordered protesters occupying the ground floor of HSBC Holdings PLC's (HBC) headquarters to evict their encampment by the end of August.

OAO Gazprom Neft (SIBN.RS), the oil unit of state gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), said Monday that net profit for the first half increased 0.4% on last year to 78.7 billion Russian rubles ($2.47 billion), on the back of increased hydrocarbon production and higher oil-refining volumes.

NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative has held talks with potential bidders for the grower-owned business in the wake of a combined US$2 billion worth of deals for Australian sugar producers, and is open to a sale at the right price, Chief Executive Chris Connors said.

Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC.PH) said Monday its net profit in the first half rose 31% to PHP14.1 billion pesos ($336.7 million) lifted by strong performance at its brewery and energy units.

Banks' use of the European Central Bank's overnight deposit facility was higher Friday compared with the previous trading day, but deposits in the current account decreased by a similar amount, ECB data showed Monday.

Senior officials from the Group of 20 largest economies are discussing calling a meeting of an emergency forum to try and coordinate a response to surging food prices due to a severe drought in the U.S., the Financial Times reports Monday.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (500660.BY) said Monday its net profit for the second quarter rose 11% from a year earlier, helped by strong sales growth across segments.

British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN) said Monday it bought 165,000 of its ordinary shares for cancellation at a volume-weighted average price of 748.1296 pence per share.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (009540.SE), the world's largest shipbuilder by sales, Friday posted a 83% on-year slump in second-quarter net profit as lower prices for vessels and reduced shareholding gains from affiliates including Hyundai Oilbank cut into the bottom line.

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. (1326.TW) said Monday that it has shut a 300,000-metric-ton-a-year styrene monomer production plant in central Taiwan following a fire that broke out Sunday afternoon.