Copenhagen  - Denmark's central bank Thursday shadowed an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and lowered its lending rate by 0.50 percentage points to 5 per cent.

Copenhagen - Danish brewer Carlsberg's third-quarter operating profit increased, the group said Wednesday but noted that beer sales in expanding markets in Russia and Eastern Europe were impacted by bad weather in the quarter.

The quarter's operating profit before special items was 3.05 billion kroner (525 million dollars), compared to 2.07 billion kroner for the corresponding business period in
2007.

Turnover in the quarter surged from 12.4 billion to 18.44 billion kroner year-on-year, while net profit was up from 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion kroner.

Copenhagen - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday said he would "sound out" the prospects of staging a referendum on introducing the joint European currency, the euro, with other political parties.

Speaking to reporters at his weekly news conference, the premier underlined that he had no date in mind.

Rasmussen said he aimed to seek broad political backing in favour of the referendum, including the opposition Socialist People's Party that in 2000 opposed the euro.

Bonn, Germany - Germany's competition regulator said Friday it was extending a review of the planned takeover by a German company of a Danish sugar maker.

Nordzucker of Braunschweig, Germany, said months ago that it had agreed to purchase the sugar division of Danisco A/S of Denmark, a move that would boost its European sugar market share from 9 to 16 per cent.

Most European sugar production is derived from sugar beets.

Copenhagen - Were it up to Danish voters, US presidential candidate Barack Obama would win a landslide victory, a Danish newspaper reported Friday.