TORONTO, March 28- BlackBerry reported a surprise quarterly profit on Thursday, but its subscriber base fell slightly more than expected, and revenue remained far below year-earlier levels. The Waterloo, Ontario- based company said it sold about 1 million of its new Z10 touchscreen smartphones in the fourth quarter ended March 2.
March 27- Repros Therapeutics Inc said its experimental drug to treat low levels of testosterone met the main goals of a key study, succeeding in bringing patients' testosterone levels to a normal range.
TORONTO, March 28- BlackBerry announced an unexpected quarterly profit on demand for the new touchscreen device that holds the key to its successful turnaround, but revenue remained far below year-earlier levels. Net income in the quarter was $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share.
*Sales of Tecfidera expected to top $3 billion by 2017. March 27- U.S. regulators have approved a new multiple sclerosis drug made by Biogen Idec Inc that is widely expected to become the No. 1 oral treatment for the disease, with annual sales of more than $3 billion.
*Italy's funding costs rise, Cyprus banks set to reopen. LONDON, March 28- The euro struggled near four-month lows against the dollar on Thursday and could ease more, hurt by the risk of capital outflows due to the fallout from a rescue deal for Cyprus and ongoing political problems in Italy.
*Outflows continued despite price boost from Cyprus crisis. LONDON, March 28- Gold- backed exchange-traded funds are set for their biggest quarterly outflow since inception, with investors beating a hasty retreat from the market due to a brightened global economic backdrop.
*Thailand may have to sell 500,000 T rice on world markets at a loss. SUPHAN BURI, Thailand, March 28- Thailand is set to sell half-a-million tonnes of rice on world markets at a loss, as it scrambles to offload a record stockpile deteriorating in quality in warehouses filled with grain bought under a government scheme.
WASHINGTON, March 27- Congress quietly tucked in a new cyber-espionage review process for U.S. government technology purchases into the funding law signed this week by President Barack Obama, reflecting growing U.S. concern over Chinese cyber attacks.
HONG KONG, March 28- China shares were headed for their worst loss in nearly a month on Thursday, hurting Hong Kong markets, with banks taking a hit after they were ordered to tighten control over wealth management products and improve transparency.
SINGAPORE, March 28- The head of Deutsche Bank's Southeast Asia and South Asia financial institutions group, Dhruv Shrikent, will leave on March 31, according to an email seen by Reuters. Shrikent, who worked at the German lender since 2006, most recently advised AIA on its $1.7 billion acquisition of ING's insurance business in Malaysia.
SEJONG, South Korea, March 28- South Korea's new government sharply cut this year's economic growth forecast on Thursday and pledged various stimulus measures including an extra budget over the coming weeks to pull the economy out of a slump.
DETROIT, March 27- Ford Motor Co expects operating margins of about 10 percent in North America this year, down slightly from 2012, because the company expects a greater portion of its sales this year will come from smaller cars that are less profitable than trucks.
HONG KONG, March 28- China shares were headed for their worst loss in nearly a month on Thursday, with banks taking a hit after they were ordered to tighten control over wealth management products and improve transparency.
OTTAWA, March 27- Banks are lining up to expand their presence in Canada, and the government welcomes this as a way of fostering competition, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday.
*Coming up: U.S. Weekly jobless claims at 1230 GMT. SINGAPORE, March 28- London copper edged up on Thursday from a one-week low hit in the previous session as traders closed out short positions ahead of a holiday weekend, while prices were set to end the month and quarter down due to a lack of robust Chinese demand.
SINGAPORE, March 28- London copper edged up on Thursday from a one-week low hit in the previous session as traders closed out short positions ahead of a long holiday weekend, while prices were set to end the month and quarter down due to a lack of robust Chinese demand.
LONDON, March 27- One of the largest ever cyber attacks is slowing global internet services after an organisation blocking "spam" content became a target, with some experts saying the disruption could get worse. Steve Linford, chief executive of Spamhaus, told the BBC that the company had been subjected to attacks on an unprecedented scale for more than a week.
CHICAGO, March 25- Crop-friendly snowfall and some rain moved across much of the U.S. crop belt over the weekend offering slight relief to the drought while a new storm system is expected by late this week, an agricultural meteorologist said on Monday.
SHANGHAI, March 27- Chinese Internet users are crying foul over the perceived unfair treatment doled out to Apple Inc by state-run media which has actively criticised the smartphone maker for the past two weeks over its warranty policy.