UNITED KINGDOM

Britain's FTSE 100 index closed easier on Thursday, giving up an early advance as buyers paused after Wednesday's steep gains on easing interest rate tensions. However, support services company Capita stood out with a 9.3 percent rise after it posted a forecast-beating 24 percent jump in interim profits.

Was the dollar's recent sharp run higher against a backdrop of conflict in the Middle East a pure geopolitical safe-haven play? Not quite, some say.

Global economic growth is strong and becoming more broadly based, the Group of Eight nations said on Monday at their summit in St Petersburg.

Under pressure from Group of Eight leaders, ministers from six key trade powers are to start intensive meetings to rescue the deeply troubled Doha round, officials said on Monday.

The NASD has two new resources to support firm's Anti Money Laundering (AML) programs. A free webcast is available at http://www.nasd.com/webcasts/aml.

Three British former bankers extradited to the United States this week pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday to fraud charges linked to a deal with defunct energy giant Enron Corp.

Leading British shares dropped 1 percent on Thursday, as escalating geopolitical tensions, record high oil prices and concerns over U.S. corporate profits sent jitters through global equity markets, while a decline in Aviva Plc shares also weighed.

China's Nanjing Automobile Group, which took control of Britain's collapsed MG Rover last year, on Wednesday said it would build MG-brand cars in Oklahoma, making it the first Chinese automaker to assemble vehicles in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran's refusal to accept an international incentives offer to negotiate curbs on its nuclear programme will force major powers to decide on Wednesday to deal with the Islamic Republic at the U.N. Security Council.

Premier Foods has agreed to buy the UK and Irish businesses of Campbell Soup for 460 million pounds ($846 million), adding Oxo stock cubes, Batchelor soups and Homepride flour to its stable of brands. Premier Foods, which already owns household names such as Angel Delight desserts and Smash instant mashed potato, said on Wednesday it would finance the deal mainly from a fully underwritten rights issue to raise 450 million pounds.

Britain's biggest retailer Tesco said on Wednesday it expected some growth in its personal finance business and could move beyond basic insurance, savings and credit card lending to promote mortgages for UK consumers.

Britain's biggest insurer, Aviva Plc, is in talks to buy U.S. life insurer AmerUs Group Co, valued at about $2.3 billion, in a deal that would boost Aviva's undersized presence in the booming U.S. market.

Standard Life is set to price next week's market debut at the low end of its price range and at a discount to the UK insurance sector, even as markets claw back recent losses, investors and analysts said.

Britain's BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense company, ordered an audit of Airbus on Wednesday, pushing back its possible sale of a 20-percent stake in the European planemaker into September at the earliest.

South African telecommunications group Telkom SA, denied on Monday that talks concerning a possible takeover by British cell phone group Vodafone had taken place.

Britain's leading shares trekked higher on Friday, putting the FTSE 100 index on course for its biggest weekly gain in nearly eight months as miners and oil stocks charged higher.

Britain's FTSE 100 share index hit a 3-week high on Thursday, fired up by strong resources and bank stocks, although trading levels were modest ahead of a U.S. interest rate decision. Banks saw HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland gain 1.1 percent, while Barclays put on 1.5 percent.

Takeover action spurred UK stocks higher on Wednesday, with music group EMI surging after rejecting a bid from Warner Music and steelmaker Corus rising on talk of a possible offer from Russia's Severstal.

A tip off by Virgin Atlantic Airways triggered an investigation into alleged airfare price-fixing by British Airways after it passed on information to Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about its arch rival, an industry source said on Saturday.

Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the U.S. Department of Justice are investigating alleged cartel activity involving British Airways Plc (BA) and other airlines, BA said on Thursday.

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