Business briefs

HAVANA. China provided its ideological ally Cuba $600 million in loans and grants Wednesday during a visit to strengthen ties by the Asian giant's parliamentary head Wu Bangguo, diplomatic sources said. Wu, the second most powerful man in China's ruling Communist Party, arrived Tuesday night on the communist-ruled island for a three-day visit.

NEW YORK. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc and Leucadia National Corp agreed to buy Capmark Financial Group Inc's mortgage loan and servicing business for as much as $490 million, increasing exposure to a possible US housing recovery. Capmark also said it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after soured loans left it with a $1.62 billion second-quarter loss. It said stockholders had negative equity of $1.14 billion as of June 30.

LONDON. Oil prices rose above $69 a barrel yesterday, drawing support from a sharp fall in US gasoline inventories that revived hopes of a demand recovery in the world's largest fuel consumer. US crude prices for October delivery were $1.02 higher at $69.07 a barrel by 1054 GMT (6:54 a.m. EDT), after earlier reaching a high of $69.39. London Brent crude rose 71 cents to $68.37 a barrel.

PARIS.Pernod Ricard SA's net profit rose 12.5 percent last year after the French wine and spirits group acquired the maker of Swedish vodka Absolut, the company said Thursday. The Paris-based company, said net profit in the 12 months ended June 30 was $1.35 billion, up from euro 840 million a year earlier. The performance was in line with the company's guidance for full-year earnings growth, a target the company had lowered earlier in the year as the global economic crisis hit sales of most of Pernod Ricard's leading brands, Ballantines whisky and Perrier Jouet champagne.

NEW YORK. The United States lost fewer private sector jobs in August than in July while companies planned fewer layoffs, suggesting modest improvement in the beleaguered US labor market. Tentative signs of recovery were also evident in data that showed US factories saw an increase in new orders in July for the fourth straight month, though the rise was smaller than economists had expected.