UNITED KINGDOM

British Gas, along with some other dominant UK utilities, promised not to raise prices this winter.

Stocks were set to open lower on Wednesday as policymakers warned Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and on growing signs the contagion was starting to spread to larger European nations.

Interestingly, overall unemployment among females -- now at 1.09 million -- is at a 23-year high.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday as policymakers warned Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and on growing signs the contagion was starting to spread to larger European nations.

Britain is on the brink of a contraction as the euro crisis weighs heavy, and inflation w ill fall well below target, Bank of England forecasts showed on Wednesday, leaving the door wide open for more stimulus to boost growth.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Wednesday as policymakers warned that Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and Italian bond yields remained at elevated levels in a sign of ongoing risk aversion.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp is preparing to take legal action, including possible criminal complaints, against any executives found responsible for the accounting scandal engulfing the firm, according to an internal staff email.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Exelis, MannKind, Velti, Amarin and LM Ericsson. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Hot Topic, Amtech Systems, Flow International, Idenix Pharma and Spectrum Pharma.

An experimental England side were 1-0 winners against Sweden for the first time in 43-years at the Wembley Stadium in London.

Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp is preparing to take legal action, including possible criminal complaints, against any executives found responsible for the accounting scandal engulfing the firm, according to an internal staff email.

Man Booker Prize winner, Julian Barnes and Britain's poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy are among the shortlisted nominees for this year's Costa Book Awards.

Australia's Qantas Airways is hopeful of reaching an agreement with three key unions by a November 21 deadline, its chief executive said on Wednesday, after it grounded its fleet last month in a desperate bid to end industrial disputes.

Intel is launching a $100 million fund to invest in companies creating applications and content that complement its mobile chips, which have struggled to find a foothold in tablets and smartphones.

Julian Barnes, who won this year's Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Carol Ann Duffy, Britain's poet laureate, were among the nominees for the 2011 Costa Book Awards announced on Tuesday.

Tinseltown is set to take on the Time Lord, with Harry Potter director David Yates planning to build a movie franchise based on Britain's hugely popular Dr. Who series.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has indicated to parliament he is not likely to delay approval of Tullow Oil's long proposed partnership with Total and CNOOC further, because it would diminish his government's credibility in future negotiations.

Research In Motion Ltd (RIM), the maker of Blackberry smartphones, said its subscriber base in the UK had passed the 8 million milestone as it unveiled a new cloud-based music service in the country

Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, was released from a Norfolk, England prison after four months for an LSD-fueled violence charge.

Men and women who resort to online dating sites frequently lie about their looks, physique, jobs and financial status, a survey of 1,000 single adults commissioned by online dating community BeautifulPeople.com, discovered.

Actress Meryl Streep unveiled a poster in London on Monday promoting her upcoming big-screen portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which one early review described as magnificent.

Galaxy Note by Samsung will debut in the UK soon but in October, HTC debuted another large smartphone, the 4.7-inch HTC Sensation XL. It's not as big as the forthcoming Note's 5.3-inch screen but even 4.7-inches could be too large for some.