Japanese game giant Nintendo Co. Ltd. posted solid rises in profits in the six months to September, thanks to robust sales and a dip in the price of key components, a news report said Saturday. Nintendo posted a group net profit of 35 billion yen (US$287.8 million), an increase of 17 percent from the same time last year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, quoting company sources.- AFP.

The World Bank said on Saturday it was scheduled to sign two credit agreements worth a combined US$213 million with Vietnam next week to help reduce the country's poverty and build public infrastructure. -Reuters

The number of unemployed people in Germany bumped up to 3.71 million in October, the daily Die Welt said in its Saturday edition. The newspaper quoted sources within the Federal Labor Office who said that the jobless figure had risen by 100,000 from October 2000.- AFP

Vietnam has approved foreign investment projects worth nearly US$2 billion in the first 10 months of the year, up 19 per cent over the same period last year, the Vietnam News reported Saturday.- DPA.