AFP British drugs giant AstraZeneca on Wednesday agreed to sell part of its antibiotics business to US giant Pfizer for up to $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euros). The deal for the company’s small-molecule antibiotics, or those developed using traditional chemistry, is expected to complete in the fourth quarter, AstraZeneca said in a statement. The news comes days after Pfizer …

  London / AFP European stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday, shrugging off a largely downbeat session in Asia, with sentiment partly lifted by German economic growth data. Strong foreign trade and buoyant consumption drove Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest, to better-than-expected growth in the second quarter, federal statistics office Destatis said. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 percent between …

  Dubai / Reuters Gulf stock markets moved little in early trade on Wednesday with few positive factors to spur buying, although Saudi Arabian petrochemical shares were firm. The Saudi Arabian index was flat. Petrochemical heavyweight Saudi Basic Industries added 0.6 percent and Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance rose 2.2 percent in unusually heavy trade. Dubai’s index edged down 0.2 percent. …