GLENCORE SWINGS TO PROFIT

Glencore, which swung to a net profit of $1.72 billion during the first half of the year, said it would launch a $1 billion share buyback, signaling the mine-to-market group's commitment to returning cash to shareholders.

CALSBERG WARNS ON PROFIT AS RUSSIA, UKRAINE BITE

Danish brewer Carlsberg warned that problems in Russia and Ukraine will have a bigger impact on full-year earnings than previously expected, even as it posted slightly higher second-quarter net profit.

HEINEKEN 1H NET PROFIT FALLS 1.3%

Heineken reported a 1.3% drop in net profit for the first six months of the year as currency movements and divestments weighed on sales.

BALFOUR BEATTY REJECTS CARILLION'S LATEST MERGER OFFER

Balfour Beatty rejected Carillion's latest takeover offer and said it won't seek an extension to the so-called "put-up or shut-up" deadline.

LG CHEM IN DEAL TO SUPPLY BATTERIES TO AUDI

South Korean battery maker LG Chem has reached a deal to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles to Audi, a unit of German auto maker Volkswagen.

CHINA FINES 12 JAPANESE AUTO-PART MAKERS

China levied $202 million in fines against 12 Japanese auto-part makers for alleged price manipulation in the latest effort to wield its power against multinational companies.

VOLVO SWINGS TO NET PROFIT IN FIRST HALF OF 2014

Swedish auto maker Volvo Car said it swung to a net profit during the first half of the year as car sales increased 9.5% on strong demand in China, Sweden and Western Europe.

GEELY AUTOMOBILE'S FIRST-HALF PROFIT FALLS 20%

Chinese auto maker Geely Automobile Holdings said its net profit for the first six months of 2014 fell 20% from a year earlier to $181 million.

MISSING CHAIRMAN COMPLICATES IPO

Investment bank China International Capital has dropped CCB International as an underwriter of its planned $500 million initial public offering in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, after a company CCB floated early this year recently said its chairman has gone missing.

FORTESCUE PLANS TO REPAY DEBT AS PROFIT JUMPS

Fortescue Metals Group said it hoped to repay as much as $1.5 billion of debt within the next year, after a sharp rise in iron-ore output from its Pilbara mines fueled a 56% rise in annual profit.

NEPTUNE ORIENT LINES MULLS SALE, IPO OF LOGISTICS BUSINESS

Container shipper Neptune Orient Lines is seeking to sell its profitable logistics business, as the Singapore company struggles with falling freight rates and an industrywide glut of ships.