Blackstone Group tops Street 2Q forecasts

NEW YORK — Blackstone Group L.P. (BX) on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $198.6 million. On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of 30 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 44 cents per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by