Heart-failure patients given AstraZeneca Plc's Crestor and standard drugs are just as likely to have heart attacks and strokes or die of cardiovascular problems as those on standard therapy alone, researchers said on Monday.
PepsiCo announced a restructuring on Monday that will split the food and beverage company into three units -- one for food in the United States, one for U.S. drinks and one for food and drinks abroad.
The United States and Britain heaped pressure on Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, urging him to hold elections on time, as police detained hundreds of lawyers angry at his imposition of emergency rule.
The dollar dropped to a record low against the euro and a major currency basket on Friday, on persistent worries about credit and unreported losses at financial firms, which overshadowed a strong U.S. payrolls report.
Nokia's move into Internet operations faced headwinds on Friday, as the cell phone maker postponed the start of its gaming service due to software testing delays, and Warner pulled its songs from Nokia's music shop.
Shares in Barclays fell as much as 8 percent to hit two-and-a-half year lows on Friday amid market talk of funding worries and speculation it is telling analysts to trim profit forecasts.
European shares weakened again on Friday, as investors continued to sell down the banking and financial services sector as worries about the extent of exposure to U.S. home loans continued to weigh.
U.K. airline British Airways said Friday that its first-half net profit rose 50.6% to 485 million pounds, or 41.2 pence a share, from 322 million pounds, or 27.4 pence a share, a year ago. Revenue declined 0.8% at 4.46 billion pounds, impacted by currency movements, and the firm said that it's changing its fiscal-year revenue guidance to between 3% and 3.5% due to continued dollar weakness. However, a weaker U.S. dollar helped the company to contain costs, with fuel costs falling 3.5% in the period. It also said that it now expects fiscal-yeaar costs to decline by 100 million pounds due to the weak dollar, compared to previous guidance for flat costs. The airline said that fuel costs remain a major challenge and sees a fuel bill of more than 2 billion pounds for the year. British Airways posted an operating margin of 12.5% in the half year, up from 9.8% a year ago, and said that it expects to achieve its 10% fiscal-year operating margin target.
U.K. satellite television operator British Sky Broadcasting said Friday that its net profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell 28% to 84 million pounds ($174 million), while revenue for the period rose 11% to 1.19 billion pounds.
In the UK the Competition Commission has released an initial report on the groceries industry saying that “the UK groceries market is delivering a good deal for consumers.â€
Asian stocks and oil prices retreated from their peaks on Tuesday and the dollar halted its slide as investors held their fire ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting, where an interest rate cut is widely expected. European stocks also looked set for a weaker start,
EBay division Skype and mobile phone group 3 have launched a mobile handset that allows Skype users to make free Internet calls to each other while on the move.
Thousands of borrowers are poised to challenge lenders over debt insurance, in what has been hailed a new consumer revolution against mis-selling and unfair charges.
Today in the UK, Delta Two, the Qatar based investment firm trying to takeover supermarket chain J Sainsbury’s, was given a deadline of 8th November 2007 to make a bid.The deadline was set by the Takeover Panel Executive at the request of both Sainsbury’s and Delta Two who both “agree that it is in the best interests of shareholders and colleagues to bring this process to a conclusion as soon as practicableâ€, according to a joint statement.Delta Two has made a 600p per share offer for Sainsbury’s, however in order to follow through with the offer, the company still needs an addition £500 million of extra equity.In a statement today the two parties said that Delta Two was trying to secure the extra funding from the Qatar Investment Authority and that as a result, “there can be no certainty that such funding will be forthcoming and, therefore, no certainty that an offer will be made.â€Delta Two originally approached Sainsbury’s in July with an offer, however following the credit crunch the Sainsbury family, who own 18% of the shares were concerned that the offer had too much debt.Sainsbury’s is the third largest supermarket chain in the UK.
Insurer Pearl made a 4.9 billion pound ($10.1 billion) cash offer for rival Resolution on Friday, in a dramatic move aimed at thwarting a deal between Resolution and Standard Life agreed just hours earlier.
Insurer Standard Life has agreed to buy rival Resolution for 4.9 billion pounds ($10.1 billion), topping a competing offer and breaking up Resolution's planned merger with Friends Provident.
Oil major BP will pay $373 million to settle U.S. charges stemming from a deadly Texas refinery explosion and an Alaska oil spill, as well as allegations it manipulated propane markets, the government said on Thursday. The settlement comes as the company seeks to set a new course with a restructuring aimed at improving its record on safety and the environment.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc posted a narrower third-quarter loss, helped by sales of its key drug Soliris, sending its shares up nearly 8 percent in early electronic trade.
Today BP announced plans for changes to its North Sea organisation meant to secure a long-term future for the company’s oil and gas business in the UK.
The United States has entered a recession, according to highly-regarded investor Jim Rogers, who told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday he was switching out of the dollar and into yen, the yuan and the Swiss franc.
Australia slapped financial sanctions on Myanmar's generals and their families on Wednesday as supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 12 years in captivity with protests in 12 cities across the world.
Umbro, the company which makes the sports kit for the England soccer team as well as for six of the UK Premier League clubs, has today agreed to a takeover by Nike in a £285 million deal.
Iraq pledged on Tuesday to rein in Kurdish rebels who are launching attacks on Turkey from mountain hideouts near the border after Ankara threatened to send forces into Iraqi territory to confront the guerrillas.
