FRANKFURT, July 26 (Reuters) – German sportswear maker Puma
chalked up record sales in the second quarter, as
consumers across Asia and Latin America stocked up on running
shoes with the jumping cat logo.

Sportswear has rebounded strongly from the global recession,
with the big name brands of Nike , Adidas (ADSGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and
Puma all reporting robust demand this year.

FRANKFURT, July 26 (Reuters) – Group earnings at German
retailer Metro AG will not be affected by a weaker
than expected second quarter at its electronic goods division
MediaMarkt-Saturn (MMS), it said on Tuesday.

“Except for Media-Saturn, all sales divisions of Metro Group
are within market expectations,” Finance Director Olaf Koch said
in a statement on Tuesday as the group reaffirmed its forecast
of a rise of around 10 percent in its full-year profit before
special items.

FRANKFURT, July 19 (Reuters) – Sportswear group Adidas
(ADSGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is confident of meeting its guidance for 2011 its
chief executive told Reuters, in spite of concerns that rising
material costs could affect the sector.

“I am confident we will deliver another year of strong
financial performance in line with the guidance we have provided
for the full year 2011,” Herbert Hainer said in a statement
emailed to Reuters on Tuesday.

FRANKFURT, July 15 (Reuters) – Lufthansa became
the first airline to use biofuels on regular commercial flights
on Friday in a six month trial that it estimates will reduce CO2
emissions by up to 1,500 tonnes during the period.

European airlines are pressing ahead with biofuel plans in
order to cut use of regular jet fuel. A pact signed last month
with biofuel producers and the EU Commission aims to produce 2
million tonnes of biofuel for aviation by 2020.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Chinese demand for premium brands will help luxury stocks continue to outperform even in the face of a shaky U.S. recovery, inflation in Asia and peripheral Europe’s debt crisis, a Pictet fund manager said.

“The potential of China remains huge,” Laurent Belloni, manager of the Pictet Premium Brands fund, which manages assets worth around 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), told Reuters.

* Company eyes under-30s market with new campaign

* Implemented price rises in response to cotton costs

By Victoria Bryan

BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters Life!) – Levi Strauss will attempt
to tap into the revolutionary spirit of the “Arab Spring” with a
“Go Forth” global marketing campaign aimed at attracting
youthful customers back to a jeans brand that was once one of
the most coveted in the world.

Fed up with high unemployment, rising food prices and
repression, popular uprisings led mainly by young people
overthrew governments in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year.
Libyan rebels are attempting to overthrow ruler Muammar Gaddafi,
while protests and demonstrations have rocked governments in
Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and swept across other parts of North
Africa and the Middle East.

FRANKFURT, July 1 (Reuters) – Growing fears over the
strength of Germany’s consumer recovery could hamper efforts by
Metro (MEOG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the country’s largest listed retailer, to
offload its Kaufhof department stores and Real hypermarkets.

Metro has long been looking for a way out of its Kaufhof and
Real businesses to focus on opprtunities offered by emerging
markets at its cash & carry and MediaMarkt-Saturn electronics
businesses.

FRANKFURT, July 1 (Reuters) – Growing fears over the
strength of Germany’s consumer recovery could hamper efforts by
Metro (MEOG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the country’s largest listed retailer, to
offload its Kaufhof department stores and Real hypermarkets.

Metro has long been looking for a way out of its Kaufhof and
Real businesses to focus on opprtunities offered by emerging
markets at its cash & carry and MediaMarkt-Saturn electronics
businesses.

LE BOURGET, France, June 23 (Reuters) – Airbus has
won a record-breaking order for 200 of its A320neo jets from
AirAsia , capping a week where it has trounced rival
Boeing in the fierce competition for plane contracts.

The massive contract is a show of force from Europe’s
Airbus as it battles Boeing in the market for single-aisle jets
– currently its A320 versus Boeing’s 737 — which is expected
to be worth $2 trillion over the next 20 years.

LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) – Airbus put on a show of force at the Paris Air Show on Wednesday, securing a $16 billion deal for 180 aircraft from India’s IndiGo and saying more deals were near, leaving rival Boeing in the shade.

The European planemaker, a unit of EADS, is expected to deal another blow to its U.S. rival by securing a $17 billion agreement with Malaysia’s AirAsia for up to 200 of its revamped A320neo family of aircraft on Thursday.