Vienna - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the

Vienna  - The lawyer for an Austrian woman who was held captive and repeatedly raped by her father for 24 years, on Thursday said his client was considering going to court to prevent the publication of books about the headline-grabbing case.

Earlier this week, Nigel Cawthorne's book about the case of Christine Fritzl, her father Josef Fritzl and the six children she bore him, House of Horrors - The horrific true story of the father from hell, went on sale in Britain, published by John Blake.

Christoph Herbst, the victims' lawyer, said he would sue if his client's privacy was violated by this and forthcoming books, the Austrian Press Agency APA reported Thursday.

Vienna - Raiffeisen International, the Austrian banking group operating in Central and Eastern Europe, raised its second-quarter profit by 49 per cent, as income from interest grew by 37 per cent, the company reported Thursday.

Setting a new quarterly record, net income climbed to 311.3 million euros (481.3 million dollars), from 208.8 million euros in the same period last year.

Net interest income rose to 786.5 million euros, up from 573.8 million euros a year earlier.

In the first half of 2008, Raiffeisen posted a net profit of 565.7 million euros, an increase of 41 per cent compared to 2007.

Vienna- The price for crude oil produced by the O

Vienna  - The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped by nearly 4.60 dollars on Tuesday, the lowest in two months, as markets continued to react to lower demand outlook.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at 116.22 dollars a barrel Tuesday, down 4.58 dollars from 120.80 dollars on the previous day, data released by OPEC showed Wednesday.

Vienna  - Austrian oil and gas group OMV reported an increase of more than 60 per cent in profits and operating earnings for the second quarter of 2008 on Wednesday, as rising oil prices offset the effects of a weak dollar.

Net profit after minority interests rose to 684 million euros (1.061 billion dollars) between April and June 2008, 66 per cent above the 411 million euros it made in the same period last year. Minorities accounted for 98 million euros.

OMV reported sales of 6.965 billion euros, up 52 per cent from the first quarter of 2007.