HONG KONG/LONDON :Standard Chartered (StanChart) reported on Thursday a forecast-beating 3 per cent increase in third-quarter profit and said it expected income growth at the top end of its guidance as strong wealth, global banking and markets businesses boosted revenue. The lender, which earns most of its revenue in emerging markets in Asia and Africa, reported pretax profit for the third quarter of $1.77 billion. That compared with $1.72 billion a year earlier and the $1.52 billion average of