UNITED KINGDOM

Britain's BT Group cut its dividend and said a further 15,000 jobs would go after a 1.58 billion pound ($2.4 billion) write down and restructuring at its Global Services unit drove it to a fourth quarter loss.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, will start selling Hewlett-Packard Co's netbook computers from May 17, according to a statement from Verizon Wireless.

Google is running into legal problems with privacy advocates in both Greece and Japan over its Google Maps feature, Street View.

The world's richest nations will put recession behind them later this year, but when growth returns it will be sluggish, according to Reuters polls that pose a challenge to the vigorous rally in world stock markets.

Top mobile phone maker Nokia said on Wednesday France Telecom's Orange would sell its top model 5800 and exclusive music-package deal in Britain.

Britain unveiled plans to cap ownership of the digital radio spectrum among mobile phone companies, aiming to settle a long-running dispute and fulfill the government's target of providing universal broadband.

Rio Tinto dropped as much as 5 percent, tracking its London shares lower, on growing speculation the global miner is set to launch a rights issue instead of selling $19.5 billion in stock and assets to China's Chinalco aluminum group.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged European banks to be subjected to so-called stress tests to help restore confidence in the banking system.

The Australian Dollar opens higher than this time yesterday at 0.7646 as the US trade deficit for March came in less-than-expected diminishing demand for safe havens and prompting traders to move back into higher yielding assets.

Every household in Britain should by 2020 be able to cut its energy bills and carbon footprint using smart meters and handheld devices to control energy use closely, the government said on Monday.

British consumers are expected to cut back even further on their communications spend in the months ahead, a study found, adding additional pressure to telecoms who have already seen profits shrink.

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator by revenue, plans to launch a mobile online store to sell games, news and travel applications that its customers can buy on whatever model of phone they use.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Monday the unemployment rate for the OECD area rose to 7.6% in March, 0.3 percentage point higher than the previous month and 2.0 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

French energy giant EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed to sell a stake in nuclear operator British Energy to Centrica (CNA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), striking a partnership with the gas group to build a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK.

HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, said first-quarter profits were well ahead of last year, swelled by record results in its investment bank, but would have been down without accounting gains on its debt.

Britain's green job market is thriving despite tough economic times and mounting redundancies in other sectors, environmental recruiters said on Friday.

Long-haul trips could be made in spaceships instead of planes in 20 years' time if Virgin's efforts to commercialize space travel succeed, the president of Virgin Galactic told Reuters in an interview.

AT&T Inc is close to a $2.5 billion deal to acquire the bulk of Alltel Wireless assets being divested by Verizon Communications Inc , sources familiar with the situation said Friday.

Reactions to the stress test result for the 19 banks are rather calm. The Fed determined that 10 US banks must raise a total of $74.6B. In other words,9 of the biggest baAnks have enough capital to withstand a deeper recession.

Liberty Media Corp (LINTA.O) posted a decline in operating income and revenue on Friday as sales at its QVC shopping channel plunged in the U.S. and Britain due to a difficult retail environment.

Muslims living in European countries feel far more isolated than those living in the United States, according to a survey on coexistence, with a lack of access to education and jobs reinforcing a sense of ostracism.