StanChart first-half profit rises 3%, beats forecasts <!-- no image --> <div>Standard Chartered PLC posted a 3% rise in its first-half profit on Thursday, beating market expectations, as the bank boosted revenues in its core Asian markets and managed to rein in costs.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=wJOcWEd9AKE:L1uKI9r2nZY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=wJOcWEd9AKE:L1uKI9r2nZY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?i=wJOcWEd9AKE:L1uKI9r2nZY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=wJOcWEd9AKE:L1uKI9r2nZY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?i=wJOcWEd9AKE:L1uKI9r2nZY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/UKBankingFinancial/~4/wJOcWEd9AKE" height="1" width="1" alt=""></div> Posted by Reuters