UNITED KINGDOM

Punch Taverns has said that it had ended talks with fellow pub owner Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) on the grounds that any deal would not be in the best interests of the shareholders.M&B beca...

The FTSE 100 share index fell 65.8 points to 5,980.4 on Thursday (down 1.1 per cent).Banks had mixed fortunes with HSBC down 1.1 per cent, Standard Chartered down 1.2 per cent. Alliance & Leice...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday that he and US President George W. Bush would be doing whatever is necessary to ensure that the UK and US economies resume their paths of upward growth....

Prudential Plc said on Thursday that its total sales went up 13 per cent in the first three months of 2008, compared with the same period last year. The insurers' total sales reached £729 ...

Social network portal MySpace, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., launched its India-dedicated Web site on Thursday, named MySpace India, expanding its presence into 29 global regions.MySp...

Sterling recovered against the broadly weak dollar after a sharp fall in housing starts. Sterling recovered against t...

German energy company E.ON has said it may be in the running for a possible takeover of nuclear power company British Energy. British Energy has become a takeover target thanks to its struggle with rising costs, which forced the company to close a number of its plants last year.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released new figures on Wednesday showing a rise in average earnings of 3.7 per cent in the three months to February 2008. The figure was slightly lower than the 3.9 per cent rise recorded for the three months to January.

Sterling fell against the dollar yesterday after a fall in a UK house price measure to its lowest in 30 years which increased the worries about that sector and the economy.

The Carphone Warehouse Group has reported an increase in the number of people who have signed up to its telecoms subscriptions by 16 per cent year-on year. The company also said it had increased mobile connections by 12 per cent to 2.7 million.

Fashion company Burberry Group has reported a rise in total revenue of 19 per cent for the half year to 31 March 2008.

Supermarket chain Tesco has reported an 11.8 per cent rise in pre-tax profit in 2007, taking the group's profits for the year up to £2.846 billion.

By Sergei Guriev, Anton Kolotilin, Konstantin Sonin As oil prices rise, global oil companies may seem to be making up for previous times when revenues barely covered production costs. Howeve...

AstraZeneca PLC, the second- largest drug manufacturer in the U.K., said on Tuesday it has entered into a settlement agreement with Indian generics maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd to conclude a lawsuit over a patent infringement case for its Nexium drug.

Sterling gained against the dollar on Monday as British producer price inflation surged taking some heat out of Bank of England interest rate cut expectations.

Healthcare Locums Plc has reported a 108 per cent growth in sales for the full year 2007, from £65 million to £135 million. The company said that its organic like-for-like profit growth rate was up to 21 per cent, a rise from the rate of 16 per cent in 2006.

The FTSE 100 share index fell 63.9 points down to 5,831.6 (down 1.1 per cent) on Monday.

Rich nations which make up the 'Group of Seven' endorsed a report by a group finance officials and regulators to commit to stricter supervision of the world's troubled financial system.

The FTSE 100 share index fell 69.6 points to 5,895.5 on Friday (down 1.2 per cent) after earlier gains nearly took the index above the 6000 point mark.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has announced a new scheme which it says could lift 100,000 households out of fuel poverty. The BERR said that it would be providing an extra £225 million to help meet the cost of rising fuel bills.

Electricite de France (EDF) is said to be considering making a bid for nuclear power company British Energy. According to Reuters a source close to the matter said the French company might enter the bidding, but would not overpay for the company.