UNITED KINGDOM

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.

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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.

Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats has urged the government to resume an investigation into bribery allegations surrounding a £43 billion arms deal between BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

The FTSE 100 share index fell marginally on Thursday, dropping 18.8 points to 5,965.1 (down 0.3 per cent) after the Bank of England cut interest rates from 5.25 to 5 per cent.

The High Court gave a ruling on Thursday that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acted unlawfully when it dropped a corruption inquiry into an arms deal involving BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia.

Travel operator Thomas Cook has said that it expects to meet its expectations during the current financial year.

Reports say that German utility company RWE has made a takeover offer of £11 billion for nuclear power company British Energy. The deal values the company at 700 pence per share and would be worth £4 billion to the government who own 35 per cent of British Energy.

DSG International Plc, owner of Currys and PC World, has issued a profit warning for the second time this year.