UNITED KINGDOM

The country's biggest pubs operator Punch Taverns said on Wednesday it had finished its financial year trading in line with expectations

Gallaher Group PLC, Britain's second largest tobacco company, said first half profit rose 17 percent as the company benefited from rising sales in eastern Europe.

Confectionery to DVDs retailer Woolworths Group Plc could be broken up under a takeover plan devised by Icelandic investor Baugur

Tobacco company Gallaher Group Plc posted a 4 percent rise in half year profits on Wednesday and forecast an improving second half

Shares edged down on Wednesday, with electrical goods retailer DSG International among the biggest losers after a muted trading update

DSG International Plc increased like for like sales 5 percent in the first 16 weeks of its financial year on strong demand for flat panel TVs

U.S. software firms SunGard Data Systems and Fiserv Inc top the list of suitors expected to submit bids for UK software company Misys by a deadline set for later this week, sources close to the matter said on Monday.

Self-regulation in food and beverage marketing is being exploited and is failing to curb childhood obesity, research by a global obesity taskforce presented on Tuesday has found.

Britain's largest shares drifted down on low volumes led by Diageo and with sentiment hit by a survey showing a sharp decline in British consumer confidence and by buoyant sterling following strong house price data.

Signs that the world economy is at a turning point are being reflected by tentative evidence that bonds are moving back into favor after years as an unloved alternative to booming equities.

Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever NV/Plc said on Monday it agreed to sell the bulk of its frozen foods business to private equity group Permira Funds for 1.725 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

Britain's FTSE 100 index edged higher on Friday, led by mining companies as metal prices firmed and by banks on bid talk surrounding the sector.

High-speed internet connections are on the incline in both the United States and Britain, according to industry experts.

Friendster Inc. said on Monday it received $10 million in new funding to expand abroad and help its pioneering social-networking site survive in a market dominated by younger successors who stole its thunder.

South African financial services company Alexander Forbes confirmed on Monday it has agreed to sell its international risk services unit to Lockton International Holdings for a £67.6 million ($127.5 million).

The Coca- Cola company said on Friday it will relocate its Africa Group office from Windsor, England to Johannesburg in South Africa starting in January next year, in a bid to increase business growth in Africa.

Palm Inc., handheld computer and phone maker, will unveil a new version of its Treo smart-phone next month, striving to revive sales amid tough competition.

A British city known for its concrete cows is set to become one of the most technologically advanced in Britain after it said it would to be the first UK town to boast a high-speed WiMax wireless broadband network.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson's latest venture into South Africa, Virgin Money said on Wednesday it has already issued over 50,000 credit-cards in the six weeks since its launch.

British newspapers are now giving away free as many DVDs as are being purchased in stores, revealing a stealth contributing factor to the decline of Hollywood's cash cow format.

Microsoft is launching its online ad platform dubbed AdCenter in the United Kingdom on Monday to handle all of the paid-search traffic on MSN Search and Windows Live.