11.   Mexican shares closed little changed after concerns about the lack of first-quarter company earnings growth offset investor optimism that economic activity may be on the rise.

12.   Moreover, while slippage from one market in recent years had been offset by growth in others, last year was different.

13.   Soft domestic personal computer sales were offset by growth in corporate and international sales.

14.   They are also starting to be offset by growth in other areas, economists say.

15.   U.K. stocks rose as optimism about corporate earnings growth offset concern interest rates are set to rise in the U.S. and Europe.

16.   Growth in trading partners is expected to pick up, with slower growth in the United States and Australia being offset by growth in other markets.

17.   Japanese stock prices traded little changed early Thursday as worry over the outlook for corporate profit growth offset hope new legislation will stabilize the banking system.

18.   An analyst with a local brokerage said the fall indicated that the unit price of electronic goods had dropped too sharply to be offset by growth in export volume.

19.   British Telecommunications plc said on Thursday that it had maintained half-year profits, as steady growth in sales offset a huge leap in redundancy costs.