BRUSSELS, March 3 (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest brewer, forecast weak first-quarter beer sales due to U.S. unemployment and heavy rain in Brazil — its two major markets — and said input costs would rise this year.

The maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s reported core profit for the fourth quarter above market expectations on Thursday, with in-line revenue and net profit, and said U.S. merger savings could exceed its three-year target.

AB InBev, which sells almost one in five of beers worldwide, said it expected “soft” first quarter volumes, but that momentum would build from the second quarter into the second half.

The company had said it expected like-for-like core profit growth to be materially higher in the final three months of 2010 than the 9 percent of the third quarter, partly because it spent heavily at the end of 2009 on U.S. product launches.

In fact it grew by 22 percent to $3.9 billion compared with the $3.51 billion average in a Reuters poll of 17 brokers. [ID:nLDE71O1IA]

AB InBev more than doubled its dividend to 0.80 euros per share.

Beer volumes in Brazil, where AB InBev has some 70 percent of the market, grew by 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 14 percent seen in the first nine months of 2010. Price increases helped margins in the country expand.

BRUSSELS, March 3 (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest brewer, is set to report a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by a sharp increase in drinking in Brazil and cost savings in the United States.

The maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s forecast core profit growth in the fourth quarter would be “materially” higher than the 9 percent rise in the third, partly because it spent heavily on U.S. product launches at the end of 2009.

The average rise expected in a Reuters poll of 17 brokers was 15 percent. [ID:nLDE71O1IA]

Brazil, where the company has two-thirds of the beer market, and the United States, where it has about half, will dominate investor attention, along with AB InBev’s comments on input costs this year.

Guidance on total cost of sales will be of particular interest, given rocketing raw materials prices. The futures price for malting barley EOBc1 has risen 37 percent since the launch of the contract last May.

Cost of sales per hectolitre are expected to have been flat to slightly higher in 2010, but some rise would be expected for this year.

Beer sales in Brazil rose 14 percent in the first nine months of 2010, bringing in 30 percent of the company’s core earnings. That pace is expected to slow, but by how much?

BRUSSELS, March 2 (Reuters) – Belgian King Albert II appointed a new mediator on Wednesday to try to break a political deadlock that has left the country without a new government for nearly nine months.

Wouter Beke, head of the Flemish Christian Democrats, will be the seventh politician the king has asked to revive coalition talks since an inconclusive parliamentary election last June.

The monarch charged Beke specifically with conducting talks with party leaders that would lead to state reforms.

He takes over from Finance Minister Didier Reynders, who in four weeks failed to bridge differences between French- and Dutch-speaking parties over the future of 180-year-old Belgium.

The 262-day impasse has caused uncertainty in financial markets. Yields on Belgian sovereign debt pushed higher, reflecting increased risk. Belgium has public sector debts almost equal to its annual economic output.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Q&A: Why Belgium can’t form a government [ID:nLDE70B1V9] SCENARIOS-How can Belgian deadlock by broken? [ID:nLDE70A1RT] For a graph on debt-heavy euro zone nations: r.reuters.com/zem66q

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation rose in February to its highest level since October 2008, well above the European Central Bank’s target and likely to intensify the ECB’s inflation-busting rhetoric.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat estimated on Tuesday that consumer prices in the 17 countries using the euro rose 2.4 percent year-on-year in February — in line with the central forecast in a Reuters poll of economists — after a 2.3 percent rise in January.

The ECB wants to keep inflation below but close to 2 percent.

No monthly figure or breakdown of the year-on-year estimate was available from Eurostat, but economists blamed higher inflation mainly on more expensive energy and food.

Front-month Brent crude futures hit $119.79 a barrel last Thursday, the highest level since August 2008, on concerns that continued unrest in the Middle East and North Africa could threaten oil supplies.

Christoph Weil of Commerzbank in Frankfurt said he now expects inflation to hit 2.5 percent in March.

“The ECB became nervous (about inflation trends) and reacted verbally. It will take another few months until the eventual (interest) rate increase,” he said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment gained by more than expected in February, drawn higher by the services and construction sectors and consumers, while inflation expectations jumped sharply among companies and households.

The European Commission’s monthly survey showed on Thursday economic sentiment among the 17 countries using the euro rose to 107.8 this month from a revised 106.8 in January, above the average economists’ expectations of a rise to 106.8 in a Reuters poll.

Sentiment gained in all sectors of the economy, most markedly among builders, consumers and in the services sector.

It also improved in the seven largest members of the EU as a whole, except for France and Italy. The sharpest increases were in Poland and Britain, followed by Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.

“The ESI (Economic Sentiment Indicator) is now above its long-term average in six out of the seven largest member states, with Spain still catching up,” the Commission said in a statement.

The separate business climate indicator for the euro zone, which points to the phase of the business cycle, was revised down to 1.45 in January from a previous 1.58, and held steady into February.

This was the highest level since May 2000.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone industrial new orders defied forecasts and rose in December, confirming a strong economic recovery going into 2011, but pointing to weaknesses of consumer demand and debt-heavy peripheral nations.

The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, said on Wednesday industrial new orders in the 16 countries using the euro in December increased 2.1 percent month-on-month from November, for an 18.5 percent year-on-year gain.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.8 percent monthly decrease and a 16.2 percent annual rise.

New orders fell sharpest in Ireland, declined for a second straight month in fellow financial bailout recipient Greece, and also dropped in Portugal and Spain — the countries financial markets believe could be next in line for a rescue.

Except for Germany, which suffered declining industry demand for big ticket items, new orders were up in every other euro zone country.

Without the volatile orders for ships, planes and trains, industrial orders rose 1.3 percent on the month and were 18.9 percent higher than a year earlier.

CONSUMER RECOVERY IN QUESTION

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Heineken NV, the world’s third-largest brewer, beat market forecasts for 2010 earnings on Wednesday as cost savings more than offset lower beer sales.

Heineken said it expected drinkers in Latin America, Asia and Africa to buy more of its lagers and other drinks this year and said it would mitigate an expected low single-digit percentage increase in input costs with higher prices.

Investors had been keen to hear the Dutch brewer’s outlook on rocketing raw material costs, likely to be a hot issue in 2011. The futures price for malting barley has risen 51 percent since the launch of the contract in May last year.

The group, whose chief brands are Heineken and Amstel, Europe’s number one and three beers, said it expected European and U.S. consumers to be cautious this year, with an improving economy but higher unemployment and austerity measures.

It added that the premium beer segment, including its Heineken brand in many markets, would outperform the overall beer market.

Rival SABMiller, with a strong presence in faster- growing African and Latin American markets, said last month its lager volumes rose 3 percent in the final three months of 2010.

Heineken, for whom western Europe made up over half of revenues in 2009, suffered a group volume decline on a like-for-like basis of 3.1 percent in 2010.

BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Heineken NV (HEIN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s third-largest brewer, should report sharply higher 2010 earnings on Wednesday as a Mexican acquisition and cost savings outweigh sluggish volumes in mature markets.

Investors will also be keen to hear the Dutch brewer’s outlook on rocketing raw materials costs — likely to be a hot issue in 2011. The futures price for malting barley has risen 51 percent since the launch of such a contract in May EOBc1.

Heineken’s improved results will come despite volumes under pressure from the company’s heavy exposure to mature western European markets and some evidence of market-share loss in Russia and the United States.

Rival SABMiller (SAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with a heavy presence in faster-growing African and Latin American markets, said last month its lager volumes rose 3 percent in the final three months of 2010.

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Graphic on top global brewers

r.reuters.com/puq97r

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) – The euro zone economy ended last year with stable growth, failing to meet expectations for an acceleration as expansion in the three largest nations fell short of forecasts and Greece and Portugal contracted.

An expected pick-up in growth did not occur because businesses ran down stocks in France, snow and cold hit construction in Germany and the Greek economy shrank sharply.

But a separate survey suggested Germany at least should enjoy a more fruitful first quarter of 2011.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 16 countries using the euro at the time grew 0.3 percent in the October-December period, the same as in the third quarter, and 2.0 percent year-on-year.

Economists had forecast the single currency bloc would grow by 0.4 percent and 2.1 percent respectively. A number now expect a pick-up in the first quarter, albeit dampened by austerity measures in many euro zone members.

“As we all know there was a cold snap in December, which disrupted construction and trade activity, and the acceleration in industrial activity was insufficient to offset this, so the underlying picture looks more benign,” said Martin van Vliet at ING.

German gross domestic product increased by 0.4 percent, against expectations of a 0.5 percent rise and decelerating from 0.7 percent in the third quarter.

BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) – The euro zone economy ended last year with stable growth, failing to meet expectations for an acceleration as expansion in the three largest nations fell short of forecasts and Greece and Portugal contracted.

An expected pick-up in growth did not occur because businesses ran down stocks in France, snow and cold hit construction in Germany and the Greek economy shrank sharply.

But a separate survey suggested Germany at least should enjoy a more fruitful first quarter of 2011.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said gross domestic product in the 16 countries using the euro at the time grew 0.3 percent in the October-December period, the same as in the third quarter, and 2.0 percent year-on-year.

Economists had forecast the single currency bloc would grow by 0.4 percent and 2.1 percent respectively. A number now expect a pick-up in the first quarter, albeit dampened by austerity measures in many euro zone members.

“As we all know there was a cold snap in December, which disrupted construction and trade activity, and the acceleration in industrial activity was insufficient to offset this, so the underlying picture looks more benign,” said Martin van Vliet at ING.

German gross domestic product increased by 0.4 percent, against expectations of a 0.5 percent rise and decelerating from 0.7 percent in the third quarter.