UNITED KINGDOM

When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, Oscar-winning French composer Maurice Jarre once said, according to several newspapers reporting his death in March.

A trio of top European banks showed bad debts are ratcheting up as economies worsen and unemployment rises, although investor optimism ahead of U.S. bank stress test results drove shares to year highs.

British bank Barclays Plc said first-quarter profit rose 15 percent as strong growth at its investment banking arm made up for a big jump in bad debts as economies worsen, sending its shares to a seven-month high.

Barclays Plc said its first quarter profit rose 15 percent from a year ago as strong growth at its investment bank arm made up for a big jump in bad debts.

Asian shares extended their rally Thursday as encouraging signs about the health of U.S. banks and the global economy bolstered riskier assets such as oil and hurt safe-havens such as the yen.

The volume of retail trade in March of the European Union’s 27 nation bloc (EU27) fell by 0.3% and the euro area (EA16) down by 0.6%. In February of this year, retail trade fell by 0.8% and 0.3% respectively, according to the European statistics.

Australian Dollar: In what has been a tumultuous 24 hour period the Aussie dollar survived an Asian sell off yesterday to an intraday low of 0.7335 to bounce back in dramatic fashion during offshore trade.

A Texan with H1N1 flu died earlier this week, state officials said, only the second death outside Mexico where the epidemic appeared to be waning.

China's booming hydropower sector is facing mounting criticism for generating subprime carbon credits from projects that don't need extra earnings to succeed, raising the risk of tougher rules and putting billions of dollars of clean energy investments at risk.

Retailers, seeking to cut costs in the economic downturn, need to continue investing in environmental sustainability if they want to retain customers, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Wal-Mart , the world's top retailer, said on Wednesday it has launched a pilot program to open convenience stores in China, seeking to boost its presence in one of the world's fastest growing retail markets.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday considered whether Chrysler LLC could move forward with its plans for a quick sale of most of its assets while rival General Motors Corp prepared to resume talks with its union and detailed a plan that could shift majority ownership control to the U.S. government.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday considered whether Chrysler LLC could move forward with its plans for a quick sale of most of its assets while rival General Motors Corp prepared to resume talks with its union and detailed a plan that could shift majority ownership control to the U.S. government.

FRANKFURT - The senior labor leader of German carmaker Opel (GM.N) warned that Fiat's (FIA.MI) ambitious growth strategy was an all-or-nothing bet, rejecting the Italian rival's takeover concept for the GM Europe brand.

Wave energy could catch up with commercially more advanced offshore wind power within five years, the head of pioneers Aquamarine Power Ltd told Reuters.

Australian Dollar: The Aussie dollar shrugged off some woeful local economic data yesterday to continue its recent surge higher.

The World Health Organization reported on Monday that 985 cases of influenza A (H1N1) have been reported across twenty countries.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday ahead of key housing data.

The leaders of some of the UK's largest companies have started a revolt against the third runway at Heathrow, citing responsible citizenship, media reports said.

As of the World Health Organization reports Friday, there are 11 countries and 331 cases were confirmed to have been infected with the influenza A (H1N1).

Acer, the world's joint second largest manufacturer of PCs, has reportedly confirmed that Windows 7 will be available pre-loaded on their new all-in-one Z5600 PC from 23 October, ahead of Microsoft's suggested release date.