AstraZeneca advances by 4% after results and Brilinta ruling

AstraZeneca investors have received a double dose of good news, following strong first half results and US endorsement of its blood thinning treatment Brilinta. The company said it would double its share buyback this year to $2bn after a better than expected 9% rise in earnings. Astra has also raised its earnings per share target [...]

Sly Bailey: impact of Star price cut ‘minimal’

Trinity Mirror chief dismisses rival as publisher reports adjusted pre-tax profits rose 61% to £50.4m in the first half Sly Bailey has dismissed the impact of Richard Desmond’s move to cut the Daily Star’s price to just 10p as “minimal”, as Trinity Mirror reported strong first-half results. Trinity chief executive Bailey said the Mirror, which [...]

Metro Bank rates ‘won’t trouble best-buy tables’

Financial experts underwhelmed by a lack of introductory offers and products which can usually be beaten by shopping around “The British banking revolution begins today,” claimed Metro Bank. But many experts were underwhelmed by its first set of products and the lack of introductory offers. “The rates generally aren’t going to trouble any best-buy tables,” [...]

Reed Elsevier leads FTSE higher after better than expected figures

On an unusually busy day for company news, Reed Elsevier is leading the market higher after it beat expectations. The publishing group said first half revenues grew by just 1% while operating profit fell 3% to £758m, but both these figures were better than City estimates. Reed is seeing signs of improvement in its exhibitions [...]

Shell profits rise by a third

Shell’s results underline the sudden switch in momentum between the firm and its rival BP, triggered by the Gulf catastrophe Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell put beleaguered rival BP in the shade today with a 34% hike in second-quarter profits to $4.2bn (£2.7bn). The forecast-beating performance in an “uncertain” economic climate came as Shell [...]

House prices fall by 0.5%, says Nationwide

Annual rate of house price inflation has dropped to 6.6% compared to 8.7% in June, a Nationwide report shows, and the outlook remains bleak House prices fell in July for the first time since February, reducing the average price of a UK property to £169,347 from £170,111 last month, according to latest figures from the [...]

Amazon launches new Kindle e-reader and UK ebook store

Amazon hopes the redesigned, lighter Kindles and new store will be the ‘tipping point’ in the UK e-reader market Amazon unveiled two lighter, more advanced versions of the Kindle e-reader today, alongside a new UK ebook store that it claimed will send sales of the device soaring in Britain. Faced with growing competition in the [...]

The BBC’s new film trailer may have a hidden message

Is the corporation trying to tell Jeremy Hunt something? Trailers promoting forthcoming BBC programmes are traditionally controversial, as are promotional films extolling the virtues of the corporation. The biggest single complaint on viewer feedback shows is that some programmes are so enthusiastically previewed that the audience eventually tunes in with a sense of deja vu. [...]

BSkyB profits rise as HD takeup soars

Company adds 429,000 new HD subscribers in second quarter, as broadband operation hits profitability for first time The World Cup helped to attract more than 400,000 new subscribers to BSkyB’s HD service in the second quarter, as the company’s broadband operation reached profitability for the first time. BSkyB, which also today announced a £150m deal [...]

Poll: Would you switch to Metro Bank?

Metro is the first new bank to open on Britain’s high streets for more than a century. Does its fresh approach appeal to you?

Virgin Media chief: rivals’ broadband ads are ‘grossly misleading’

Neil Berkett says government should crack down on marketing claims if it wants company to invest in high-speed networks The Virgin Media chief executive, Neil Berkett, has attacked rivals as “grossly misleading” in the way they market internet speeds to consumers. He called on the government to crack down on advertising if it expects the [...]

Winston Churchill archive to go online

Churchill Archive Trust agrees deal to allow public to view more than 1m items, from school reports to speeches Winston Churchill’s vast archive – everything from school reports and wagers about his prodigious drinking to a personal copy of the “finest hour” speech – will be digitised and offered online, it will be announced today. [...]

Metro Bank opens in London

High street Metro Bank brand hopes to lure customers with a flexible and efficient service Yorkshire terrier Duffy is yapping away, the silver pillars are being polished and plastic sheeting being torn off surfaces. After two years of preparation, it is a few hours before the opening of Metro Bank, the first new bank to [...]

Letters: Grubby deals behind the axing of the Film Council

The circumstances in which the government proposes to abolish the UK Film Council (A move that impoverishes us all, G2, 27 July) are extraordinary. The decision, based neither on consultation nor independent research, must be either entirely random, or driven by ideology run mad. That makes a considered response difficult. Among those who now join [...]

Metro Bank might be on to something

Will the first new high street bank for more than a century give the old ones a run for their money? Is the opening of Metro Bank this morning the start of a revolution in British banking, as claimed by its intriguing founder, Vernon Hill? Metro is making some bold claims, but the high street [...]

BSkyB buys complete HBO TV catalogue

Broadcaster gains exclusive rights to hit series including The Wire, Sex and the City and the forthcoming Boardwalk Empire Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB has bought the exclusive rights to the entire HBO TV catalogue, which includes a huge range of American shows such as The Wire, True Blood, The Sopranos and Martin Scorsese’s eagerly-awaited crime drama [...]

How it’s done in Sweden | Lars Calmfors

From the outset the coalition failed to grasp just what gives a financial watchdog credibility One of the first actions of Britain’s new coalition government was to set up an Office for Budget Responsibility – hailed as an independent fiscal watchdog with a remit to provide macroeconomic forecasts and evaluate the administration’s fiscal goals. The [...]

World Bank says foreign investors are crowding out African producers

Leaked report says wealthy investors are threatening local resources as they buy up farmland to gain on commodity prices A leaked World Bank report into investors from rich nations buying up African farmland has intensified campaigners’ fears that the growing trend is marginalising local producers. After a spate of investments in African land by sovereign [...]

Rise of Android helps Carphone to beat City forecasts

Demand for smartphone based on Google’s Android operating system drives Carphone sales up by 3.7% Strong demand for smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system has helped Carphone Warehouse to report sales growth ahead of City expectations. Speaking after Carphone announced a 3.7% jump in sales to £794m for the last quarter, chief executive Roger [...]

Availability of credit a matter of life and death for small business

Any bank that provides more credit for small firms would be doing a great service Bank of England governor Mervyn King drew attention to the plight of individual small firms that find it hard to borrow at the Treasury select committee today, though he also mentioned research showing that their difficulties had not held up [...]

Vedanta comes under fire for plan to build mine on ‘sacred’ land in India

Bianca Jagger delivers a plea from indigenous people who say mine threatens their way of life Anger erupted at mining company Vedanta’s annual shareholder meeting today as protesters attacked its management for alleged human rights abuses and “crimes against the environment”. While campaigners chanted slogans against the company outside the London gathering, senior executives faced [...]

Goldman blocks worker from leading financial crisis walking tours

Everybody’s favourite Wall Street bank, Goldman Sachs, has suffered a sharp sense of humour failure about a worker in its graphics department leading tourists on credit crunch-themed walks around Manhattan’s financial district. For a Guardian story on financial crisis tourism back in May, I reported on a tour led by Tom Comerford, who offered visitors [...]

Is Tony Hayward the next trick for Michael Sheen?

Outgoing BP boss reviled for Gulf oil spill is the perfect role for chameleon actor Actor Michael Sheen looks a bit like a lot of people and sooner or later usually ends up playing them. It has already happened with Tony Blair, the young Brian Clough and David Frost, and it’s surely only a matter [...]

US bailouts prevented 1930s-style Great Depression says new study

New study by economists Mark Zandi and Alan Blinder says US economic stimulus averted a worse downturn To Washington conservatives they were egregious examples of “big government” overreach, but the White House’s economic stimulus and bailout policies have saved 8.5m jobs and averted a further slump of 6.5% in US economic output, according to a [...]

British Gas warns of rise in utility bills despite £585m profits this year

Centrica says high cost of energy could mean customers face higher bills British Gas claimed today it would hold off from increasing utility bills as long as possible, hours after almost doubling profits in the first half of the year. The largest supplier of electricity and gas in the UK said that if recent increases [...]

Anglo Irish Bank and Ulster Bank to take over Dublin’s Arnotts store

Recession forces Arnotts into partial control by troubled Anglo Irish Bank – blamed for some of Ireland’s financial troubles One of Ireland’s most famous shops today came under the partial control of the country’s troubled and now state-owned Anglo Irish Bank. For 167 years Arnotts in Dublin’s Henry Street has been as synonymous with shopping [...]

Japanese oil tanker diverted to UAE port after feared terror attack

Few crew members injured after tremor and no oil leaked in Strait of Hormuz, gateway at known risk to al-Qaida attacks A Japanese supertanker, which stirred fears of an attack in the Strait of Hormuz, diverted to a UAE port today where officials said the damage was caused by a freak wave. Up to 40% [...]

Rio rises on China hopes but FTSE falters as energy firms drag

Followers of mining group Rio Tinto are expecting news of an imminent Chinese tie-up after shares in Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) were suspended earlier today. Chalco’s state owned parent, Chinalco, holds a 9% stake in Rio, and has indicated it would hold a signing ceremony tomorrow, with Rio executives expected to be in attendance. [...]

Aldi founder Theo Albrecht dies

Theo Albrecht, billionaire founder of budget chain, dies at 88 Theo Albrecht, the secretive retail tycoon who built the no-frills Aldi supermarket empire with his elder brother Karl, has died at the age of 88. Albrecht, who was Germany’s second-richest man – after his brother – with a fortune worth nearly €17bn (£14bn), had kept [...]

Mervyn King: I gave Nick Clegg no new information on debt crisis

• Lib Dem leader’s reasons for budget volte-face made unclear• Mervyn King will not rush to raise interest rates The Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, disclosed today that he gave no fresh information to Nick Clegg that could have led the Liberal Democrat leader to call for a faster deficit reduction programme than the [...]

Markets dip after more disappointing US data

Another disappointing set of US figures has renewed fears of an economic slowdown and taken the shine off shares. Yesterday it was a drop in US consumer confidence figures, today came a fall in new orders of durable goods, down 1% month on month in June. Jacob Gloser, an economist at the Centre for Economics [...]

UK electric car grant scheme ‘cut by 80%’

Government commits to just £43m of the original £230m promised for programme to subsidise the uptake of electric cars A government grant scheme to give motorists up to £5,000 off the cost of a new electric car has been cut by 80%, opposition politicians and green campaigners claimed today. The fate of a network of [...]

Switching tariff: how to reduce your energy bills

Despite a near 100% rise in profits there are rumours that British Gas could raise its prices this winter. So make sure you’re on the best available tariff, says Lisa Bachelor Householders may not have enjoyed the cold winter, but British Gas certainly did. It announced today a 98% rise in first-year profits following an [...]

No rush to raise interest rates, says Bank of England governor

‘We must be careful not to read too much into one number,’ Mervyn King said of last week’s strong economic growth figures Mervyn King today signalled the Bank of England is in no hurry to raise interest rates as he warned several risks remained to the recovery and that there was no talk of “applying [...]

British Gas warns of rising bills ahead as profits double

British Gas became the first energy supplier to cut utility bills in February but today’s comments are likely to alarm consumer groups Utility bills could be on the way up, British Gas warned today despite almost doubling profits in the first half of the year. Nick Luff, the finance director of parent company Centrica, said [...]

House insurance premiums to rise as climate change increases flood risk

Association of British Insurers warns some areas of Britain will become uninsurable Climate change will increase the risk of flooding in the UK, which could lead to dramatic rises in insurance premiums for homeowners and businesses and make some areas of the country uninsurable, the Association of British Insurers has warned. “Flood risk is the [...]

Virgin Media head admits company could sell stake in UKTV

Chief executive Neil Berkett gives clearest indication yet that company could sell its 50% stake in pay-TV venture Neil Berkett, the chief executive of Virgin Media, has given the clearest indication that the company could look to sell its 50% stake in pay-TV venture UKTV. Virgin Media, which owns UKTV jointly with BBC Worldwide, has [...]

Tony Hayward’s parting shot: ‘I’m too busy to attend Senate’

Oil company risks further damage to US relations with snub to committee and claim it is model of social responsibilty BP’s attempt to draw a line under its troubles in the US by axing its chief executive has been blunted after Tony Hayward said he would be “too busy” to attend a Senate hearing on [...]

BP was ‘model of corporate social responsibility’ – Hayward

Outgoing chief executive’s comments likely to inflame US public opinion as he defends oil group’s response to rig disaster BP’s attempt to draw a line under its troubles in the US by axing its chief executive has been blunted after Tony Hayward said he would be “too busy” to attend a Senate hearing on Thursday. [...]

New BP boss Bob Dudley ‘doesn’t need to fake his empathy for the Gulf coast’

Contemporaries from Dudley’s childhood in the deep south recall a softly spoken, unflappable high flier As a youngster growing up a small Mississippi town, Bob Dudley was a swimming prodigy with one of the speediest backstrokes in the state. Soon to become the new chief executive of BP, an aptitude for reversing may come in [...]

BP petrol stations have pumps closed by Greenpeace activists

Protesters shut down 46 outlets to highlight environmental promises made by oil giant BP petrol stations across central London were temporarily shut down by activists today in a move they said was designed to make the troubled oil company adopt greener policies. Greenpeace claimed supporters had at one time stopped the pumps at 46 outlets [...]

Vodafone chairman survives rebellion

Investors oppose Bond’s re-election following demands for board shake-up and changes to its acquisitions strategy Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond survived an attack from rebel shareholders at the company’s annual meeting today. More than 6.5% of investors who voted opposed Bond’s re-election as chairman following demands for a boardroom shake-up and pressure to change its [...]

British retailers enjoy summer boost

CBI said the mood among retailers was upbeat even as the prospect of spending cuts has started to feed through into weaker consumer confidence Hot weather and a boost to spending from the World Cup combined to give Britain’s retailers their strongest month of sales growth since the pre-crash days of 2007, the CBI said [...]

Tomkins board recommends £2.9bn bid to shareholders

• Deal will give chief executive, Jim Nicol, a £30m payout • Standard Life with a 2.79% stake argues the offer is too low Jim Nicol, the Tomkins chief executive, will make more than £30m if a recommended £2.9bn offer for the company is accepted, a potential payday that has provoked a renewed attack from [...]

Former Northern Rock finance director banned for life and fined £320,000

David Jones hit out at the FSA today as he was penalised for allowing Northern Rock to misreport mortgage arrears The former finance director of Northern Rock, David Jones, today hit out against the Financial Services Authority as he was handed a life-time ban and fined £320,000 for allowing the bank to report mortgage arrears [...]

Vedanta rejects Amnesty International claims of human rights abuses

• Vedanta says Orissa projects benefit Dongria Kondh people• Amnesty International has ‘jumped to wrong conclusions’ Mining company Vedanta today dismissed as “incorrect” an Amnesty International report that accused the firm of human rights abuses and damaging the environment. Chief executive MS Mehta claimed Amnesty had “jumped to the wrong conclusions” and that Vedanta was [...]

UK businesses face steep rise in energy bills

Government plans to secure energy supplies and cut carbon emissions means higher energy prices and bills for businesses Businesses can expect to face a steep rise in energy bills after the government today published a comprehensive plan to cut greenhouse gases and end Britain’s dependence on risky oil and gas imports. Although the individual policies [...]

BP makes record loss as Tony Hayward quits with £1m

• Outgoing chief executive has £1m payoff and £10m pension pot• BP plunges into red after setting aside £20bn to meet costs of Gulf oil spill• Greenpeace protesters close 50 BP garages in London BP has reported one of the largest losses in British corporate history because of the cost of the catastrophic oil spill [...]

BP sends Tony Hayward to Siberia to appease US

Gaffe-prone chief executive has surprise new role at TNK-BP BP is poised to stun the City tomorrow by nominating Tony Hayward to the board of its Russian business as a consolation prize for being axed as chief executive. Following its board meeting in London, the oil group will formally announce tomorrow when it unveils second-quarter [...]

IBM faces two competition inquiries

• Complaints from software makers triggers investigations• European market for mainframe computers is worth €3bn EU regulators have begun two investigations into IBM, the world’s largest computer services firm, following accusations the American company has been abusing its dominant position in the market for mainframe computers. The European market for mainframe computers and software was [...]

Connaught shares plunge on warning

FSA believed to be considering ‘full-scale’ investigation into embattled maintenance group The Financial Services Authority is believed to be considering a “full-scale” investigation into Connaught, the embattled maintenance group that admitted today it is in urgent need of cash. Connaught shares slumped by 70% to 31.46p as the company revealed it was about to breach [...]

Government warns banks over bonuses and dividend payouts

Business secretary Vince Cable says banks should be ‘very, very self-conscious’ about how they reward staff and investors Vince Cable today issued a clear warning to the City that the government would be carefully scrutinising bonuses and dividend payouts, just days before the major high street banks begin publishing their latest profit figures. The business [...]

Government warns banks over lending

Encouraging small businesses to thrive is one of way the government can stimulate economic growth in the face of public sector cuts The government put banks on notice today that it “stands ready” to intervene if a lack of lending to businesses threatens the economic recovery. At the same time, it set out a number [...]

Connaught crashes on cash shortage

Shares in the social housing maintenance group are down 75% this morning after it admitted it is about to breach its overdraft terms Connaught urgently needs cash and is about to breach the terms of its overdraft, the embattled social housing maintenance group has admitted. The news sent shares in the FTSE 250 business crashing. [...]

Fashion chain back in the black

• Aurora reported sales of £661m for 11 months to 30 January• Born again fashion chain has cut its debts to £109m The fashion chains Oasis, Karen Millen, Coast and Warehouse, which became entangled in the failure of Icelandic group Baugur, have reported improving sales under their new owner. The newly formed company Aurora Fashions, [...]

Interest rates to stay at 0.5% until 2014, say economists

• Interest rates expected to stay at 0.5% until end of 2013• Item Club backs Osborne’s spending cuts• Inflation expected to fall back to target The Bank of England will need to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5% until 2014, in order to counter-balance the impact of the government’s austerity measures, according [...]

William Hill takes telephone betting service offshore

• Move will affect 400 British staff in Leeds and Sheffield• Bookmaker claims UK business is under unfair pressure Bookmaker William Hill is closing one of its UK call centres and outsourcing jobs at another as it takes its telephone betting service offshore in a move that will affect 400 British workers. Chief executive Ralph [...]

Virgin Active in talks over £1bn sale

• Potential suitors include CVC Capital Partners, KKR, Blackstone and Advent• Virgin Active reported revenues of £391m last year Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Active is in early discussions with a handful of private equity groups over a possible £1bn sale of the health and fitness chain. The UK’s second-biggest gym operator, which also operates in [...]

House prices ‘fell 0.1% in July’

• First decline in house prices in 15 months – Hometrack• Markit/YouGov survey shows households more pessimistic• National Housing Federation warns on affordable housing There is further evidence that the housing recovery is running out of steam in a survey published today showing that prices dipped during July, the first decline in 15 months according [...]

Tony Hayward to quit as chief executive of BP

Beleaguered oil firm chief executive to be replaced by Gulf of Mexico clean-up chief Bob Dudley BP is planning to announce the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward alongside its half-year financial results on Tuesday. The BP boss will be replaced by Bob Dudley, who is currently overseeing the oil spill operation in the Gulf [...]

City minister to set out plans to shut FSA

Mark Hoban kicks off a hectic two days for the Treasury tomorrow as he gives top bankers and business leaders further details of the coalitions plans for reform Mark Hoban, the City minister, will use a speech to an audience of top bankers and business leaders tomorrow to flesh out the coalition’s plans to tear [...]

Beleaguered fashion chain returns to profit

• Aurora reported sales of £661m for 11 months to 30 January• Born again fashion chain has cut its debts to £109m The fashion chains Oasis, Karen Millen, Coast and Warehouse, which became entangled in the failure of Icelandic group Baugur, have reported improving sales under their new owner. The newly formed company Aurora Fashions, [...]

BP acquits itself of sole blame for Gulf of Mexico spill

Oil company determined to fight claims of gross negligence as speculation grows over Hayward’s future BP will this week reveal that it has cleared itself of gross negligence after an internal inquiry into the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The company believes evidence will emerge of the role that other oil companies and contractors [...]

British Gas profits to rise by 95%

• Estimated profits from domestic energy sales to hit £583m• Wholesale energy prices have halved from last year’s peak British Gas is expected to reject customers’ demands that it cut its prices, despite the fact that this week it will announce that profits have almost doubled in the first six months of the year. Parent [...]

Bus firms face £200m subsidy loss

But low-income households will be hit hardest if fares rise and services are cut Four of Britain’s biggest bus companies could lose more than £200m in profits under plans to axe public spending on transport. The government is considering scrapping a scheme that allows bus operators to reclaim around 80% of what they pay in [...]

GDP grows twice as fast as forecast

• Dramatic rebound in construction sector drives GDP growth• Service sector output three times that of Q1• Alistair Darling claims credit for Labour• Economists warn of softer third quarter Britain’s economy grew almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter driven by service sector growth and a dramatic rebound in the construction sector. [...]

Airport strike vote threatens travel chaos

Millions of passengers face threat of disruption over August bank holiday if Unite members at BAA airports vote for action over pay Millions of airline passengers face the threat of severe disruption at the UK’s largest airports during the August bank holiday weekend after the Unite trade union launched a strike ballot at BAA. The [...]

Hot weather drives Britons to drink

Fuller Smith & Turner enjoys 4.1% rise in like-for-like sales at its pubs and hotels division, while Britvic and SABMiller report weather and World Cup boost Pubs and brewing company Fuller Smith & Turner has cashed in on the recent scorching temperatures which drove drinkers to guzzle more lager. The 165-year-old company, which is based [...]

Spectre of double dip haunts uneasy US

Fears are growing for an economy carrying a 9.5% jobless rate and a predicted $4tn in excess mortgage debt A crippled housing market. Stubbornly high levels of unemployment. Falling consumer confidence. Slower growth in industrial production. No wonder Ben Bernanke, the world’s most powerful central banker, appeared a worried man in his testimony to Congress [...]

Seven more American banks collapse on day of Europe’s stress tests

• Georgia’s Crescent Bank and Trust largest of seven to fail• Number of US failures now expected to exceed last year’s total More than 100 banks in the US have now collapsed so far this year after another seven were taken over by regulators late on Friday – the same day that seven European banks [...]

Osborne’s cuts to hit private sector

Almost every part of the economy, from defence to medicine, will be affected by cuts in the public sector. But there may be winners as well as losers It was a bright, sunny day when 19 senior executives, each representing one of the government’s biggest suppliers, trooped into Admiralty House off Whitehall to meet the [...]

Judge tells Conrad Black he cannot leave US

Disgraced peer freed on bail is relaxed and polite as he appears in court, but judge says he must appear again next month Prison seems to have been good for Conrad Black. The disgraced peer and former media baron, returning yesterday to the same Chicago court where he was sentenced in 2007, was tanned, relaxed, [...]

BT can’t plug pension with price rises

BT had wanted to increase the prices its Openreach business charges rival operators to access its local telephone network as it tries to meet a £9bn pension deficit Regulator Ofcom has dealt BT a blow by refusing to allow the company to recoup some of the cost of plugging the black hole in its pension [...]

UK economy growing almost twice as fast as forecast

Dramatic rebound in construction sector drives GDP growth to 1.1% in the second quarter, almost double forecasts of 0.6% Britain’s economy grew almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter driven by service sector growth and a dramatic rebound in the construction sector. The Office for National Statistics said GDP rose a quarterly [...]

Tropical storm Bonnie forces BP to suspend relief oil well drilling

Work to plug Gulf of Mexico oil well could be delayed for two weeks The tropical storm Bonnie has forced BP to temporarily suspend drilling on its relief well in the Gulf of Mexico. Work to permanently plug the oil giant’s leaking Macondo oil well, which has spewed more than 4m barrels of oil into [...]

Demand for mobile data boosts Vodafone

Mobile phone operator reports its first quarterly service revenue growth since the recession Strong demand for mobile data has helped Vodafone increase its service revenues for the first time in 18 months, as its key markets recovered from recession. Britain’s third-largest mobile phone operator today reported a 1.1% rise in service revenues to £10.58bn in [...]

Airport workers vote on strike over pay

Unite action at BAA airports including Heathrow and Stansted threatens more travel disruption this summer Thousands of workers at some of Britain’s biggest airports will start voting today on whether to go on strike over pay, threatening disruption before the end of the summer holidays. This would bring further misery to millions of air travellers, [...]

Europe’s bank stress tests – Live

• How many banks will fail EU’s stress tests?• Results due at 5pm but may be rushed out earlier• Slovenia admits its biggest bank will fail 11.38am: Mark Deans, dealing manager at Moneycorp, believes we could see some fireworks when the results come out. It is important to remember that the markets are still acting [...]

Microsoft posts record $16bn revenues

• Microsoft announces 22% rise in three months to June• Profits near $6bn, underlining recovery in technology sector• Results beat record from rival Apple Microsoft added to the growing sense of recovery in the technology sector last night by reporting record quarterly revenues, driven by strong sales. The software giant pipped Apple, one of its [...]

Anger as Equitable Life report caps payout at £500m

Government report says Equitable Life policyholders should get only a tenth of the compensation they think they are due Victims of the Equitable Life scandal reacted with fury todayafter a government report suggested they should share no more than £500m in compensation – a tenth of the amount campaigners argue they are due. The Treasury [...]

Microsoft posts record revenues of $16bn

• Microsoft announces 22% rise in three months to June• Profits near $6bn, underlining recovery in technology sector• Results beat record from rival Apple Microsoft added to the growing sense of recovery in the technology sector last night by reporting record quarterly revenues, driven by strong sales. The software giant pipped Apple, one of its [...]

It’s too soon for austerity, says Bernanke

• Federal Reserve chairman spurns UK and eurozone approach• Bernanke insists ‘we should maintain stimulus in the short term’ The head of America’s central bank, Ben Bernanke, warned against immediate European-style budget austerity measures yesterday when he insisted that withdrawing fiscal stimulus was too risky for the recession-threatened US economy. In a second day of [...]

UK sees foreign investment plunge

Drop demonstrates country’s over-reliance on financial services, says UN report Britain saw foreign investment halve last year in a dramatic plunge that experts say highlights the country’s over-dependence on financial services. As David Cameron tries to make British diplomats work harder to secure foreign trade deals, figures from the United Nations suggest Britain’s standing on [...]

Gulf rig workers ‘concerned about safety before explosion’

Survey carried out before Gulf of Mexico oil spill showed workers feared reprisals if they reported problems Many workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig were concerned about safety in the weeks before the 20 April explosion but feared reprisals if they reported problems. A survey of workers, commissioned by the rig’s owner, Transocean, in [...]

Fed chairman warns of ‘unusually uncertain’ outlook for US

Ben Bernanke says struggling banking sector and Greece’s near-collapse have delayed America’s recovery Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned last night that the US economy faced “unusually uncertain” prospects, and said the central bank was ready to take further steps to bolster growth if needed. Low growth for several years was the likely outcome of [...]

High street sales beat expectations

Official figures show jump in sales of TVs to watch World Cup A jump in demand for new televisions to watch the World Cup helped high street sales beat expectations in June raising hopes that overall economic growth gathered steam in the second quarter. The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes rose a [...]

Volvo Group profits rise on truck sales

World’s second-largest commercial vehicle maker makes profit of £400m, beating expectations Swedish commercial vehicle maker Volvo Group today reported increased profits for the second quarter thanks to a strong growth in demand coupled with cost-cutting. The truck market is recovering from its worst slump in decades. Volvo said that it was expecting the European market [...]

Investor protest over Experian boss

• More than 12% of Experian shareholders voted against Tyler• On average dissent on elections of directors is 2.3% David Tyler, a boardroom veteran and chairman of two major companies,faced an embarrassing revolt over his continued tenure on the board of credit checking firm Experian, on a day when shareholders also rebelled against pay schemes [...]

Gala Coral chief to quit

Gala Coral boss’s decision comes weeks after debt restructuring that lost private equity backers £700m Dominic Harrison, chief executive of Gala Coral, has decided to leave the gambling group just weeks after a tortuous debt restructuring deal was reached at a loss of £700m to the company’s three departing private equity backers, the Guardian has [...]

Goldtrail compensation to cost £20m

Rescues and refunds of holidaymakers expected to hit government-backed Atol scheme hard The collapse of package holiday group Goldtrail, which has left 50,000 customers rushing to rearrange their summer holiday plans, is expected to cost the government-backed consumer protection scheme close to £20m in repatriation costs and refunds. A claim of this scale on Atol’s [...]

Takeover fever as Reckitt agrees £2.5bn takeover of Durex firm

Consumer group behind Cillit Bang adds the Durex and Scholl shoes ‘power brands’ to its business Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods group behind brands such as Cillit Bang, Lemsip and Nurofen, todayagreed a £2.5bn buyout of SSL, the business behind Durex condoms and Scholl shoes, in the latest in a spate of takeover deals. Merger [...]

Gala Coral chief Dominic Harrison to quit

Gala Coral boss’s decision comes weeks after debt restructuring that lost private equity backers £700m Dominic Harrison, chief executive of Gala Coral, has decided to leave the gambling group just weeks after a tortuous debt restructuring deal was reached at a loss of £700m to the company’s three departing private equity backers, the Guardian has [...]

Conrad Black freed on $2m bail

Media mogul ordered to be released from prison while federal judge decides whether to overturn his 2007 fraud conviction Conrad Black, the former Telegraph owner, is to be freed from jail in Florida on bail of $2m (£1.3m), but will not be allowed to leave the US, a federal judge in Chicago ruled today. Black [...]

BP’s Hayward to launch fightback

• Second quarter figures likely to show surge in profits to $5bn• BP’s Gulf oil spill liabilities expected to top $20bn BP boss Tony Hayward will next week launch a fight back against the wave of criticism that has engulfed him and BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Hayward is set to outline [...]

MPC split again on interest rates

• MPC discusses monetary stimulus to counter Osborne cuts• Andrew Sentance continues his call for a interest rate rise The Bank of England has raised the prospects of a fresh issue of electronic money to shore up the fragile economic recovery and offset some of the pressures from the government’s fiscal squeeze. In its first [...]

New owner could p-p-pick up Penguin chocolate bar business

The private equity owners of United Biscuits – maker of Hula Hoops, Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets – put company up for sale Penguin chocolate bars could be picked up by a new owner next year after United Biscuits launched the initial stages of a sale process, that could see the company valued at up to [...]

GlaxoSmithKline makes £304m loss

Huge cost of settling legal bills plunges GlaxoSmithKline, world’s second-largest drugs firm, into the red GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s second-largest drug company, was plunged into the red in the last three months by massive legal bills, its results revealed today. Last week the pharmaceutical firm announced its second-quarter results would be hit by the £1.57bn cost [...]

Jubilee line upgrade delayed by a year

Faster, more frequent trains delayed following Transport for London’s acquisition of PPP contractor Tube Lines The much-delayed upgrade of one of London’s busiest tube lines could be a year late despite the acquisition of the public-private partnership company behind the programme. Transport for London, the capital’s publicly owned transport body, has warned that the introduction [...]

Apple enjoys record quarterly earnings

Steve Jobs says tech firm had enjoyed ‘phenomenal quarter’ after revenues rise 88%, with net profit up 78% at $3.25bn Record sales of Mac computers and strong demand for the iPad has helped Apple post its highest ever quarterly earnings. Steve Jobs declared last night that Apple had enjoyed a “phenomenal quarter”, after it smashed [...]

Ocado shares slump on market debut

Ocado’s co-founder Tim Steiner was forced to defend the company’s handling of the flotation process and criticised some brokers for questioning the float price Shares in Ocado slumped to 11% below their reduced flotation price as the online retailer received a lacklustre welcome on its stock market debut. Ocado’s co-founder and chief executive, Tim Steiner, [...]

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