Alcatel-Lucent, BT earns, Japanese industry data give world markets another boostLONDON — World stock markets rose strongly Thursday after another batch of better than expected corporate earnings and further signs that Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, could be on the road to recovery. Reed Elsevier says H1 profits down 48 percent; to issue new shares to cope with debtLONDON — Reed Elsevier Group PLC, the London and Amsterdam-based educational publisher and owner of the LexisNexis information service, reported Thursday its first-half profit fell 48 percent and said it would sell new shares to raise money to cope with debt from its acquisition of ChoicePoint Inc. |