UNITED KINGDOM

Six out of 10 Icelandic voters plan to reject a bill on repayment of more than $5 billion owed to Britain and the Netherlands in a referendum on the so-called Icesave deal, according to a poll published by an Icelandic daily on Saturday.

The food industry worldwide is increasing using nanotechnology for use in food and packaging and according to The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, nanotechnology has the power to deliver benefits to the customers. However, the Parliamentary Committee has criticised the food industry for failing to be transparent about its research into the uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials.

Britain has awarded energy companies the rights to develop the world's biggest offshore wind project in hopes the country will become a leader in the emerging industry, which is vital to slash carbon emissions.

European Union carbon emissions futures rose on Friday, as financial players who had sold permits short bought them back and as technical levels pointed toward consolidation, traders said.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed to sell non-core asset management businesses to funds firm Aberdeen as part of its overhaul following the government rescue.

Sri Lanka on Friday rejected the findings of a trio of United Nations-appointed investigators who said they doubted a video showing apparent executions by Sri Lankan soldiers was fake.

British bid target Cadbury (CBRY.L) will paint an upbeat picture for 2010 and upgrade 2009 forecasts next week in a final attempt to fight off a hostile bid from Kraft Foods (KFT.N), analysts said on Friday.

A global scarcity of scientific research on using nanotechnology in foods means food safety authorities are unable to properly regulate products that may be beneficial or harmful, a British science panel said on Friday.

British bid target Cadbury (CBRY.L) will paint an upbeat picture for 2010 and upgrade 2009 forecasts next week in a final attempt to fight off a hostile bid from Kraft Foods (KFT.N), analysts said on Friday.

Japanese stocks hit a 15-month high on Friday as the yen eased against the dollar, leading most Asian markets higher, but Chinese shares and commodities stumbled on fears that Beijing is ready to tighten policy to cool economic growth.

The Australian Dollar opens lower on Friday at 0.9180 after a stronger greenback overnight weighed on the high-yielders and eroded yesterday's solid gains.

Britons snowed in by the wintry weather have been flocking to an extra-marital dating site in the last 24 hours.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday he had the full support of his cabinet, labelling a call from two former ministers for a secret Labour party ballot on his future a storm in a tea cup.

The Bank of England kept the scale of its asset purchase programme unchanged at 200 billion pounds ($319 billion) on Thursday and said it would decide whether or not to extend it next month.

The Bank of England committed to one more month of asset purchases under its 200 billion pound ($318 billion) quantitative easing policy on Thursday, as widely expected, and kept interest rates at a record-low 0.5 percent.

Cadbury shares dipped below the level of Kraft Foods' 10.6 billion-pound ($17 billion) bid for the first time on Thursday as prospects of a rival bid receded and analysts reckoned Kraft now needs only to slightly sweeten its offer to win.

The Australian Dollar opens at a 5-week high against the greenback on Thursday at 0.9200.

Icy conditions have driven a surge in energy demand in heavily populated parts of the northern hemisphere but some countries are enjoying a relatively mild winter, data shows.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had given conditional approval for U.S. food group Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) to take over British confectionery maker Cadbury (CBRY.L).

Kraft faced pressure to raise its bid for Cadbury with extra cash as the market digested Tuesday's warning from key investor Warren Buffett and an initial deadline passed with few of the UK confectioner's shares changing hands.

Portugal's EDP Renewables (EDPR) expects to be awarded a 1.3 gigawatts development project in the third offshore wind farm leasing round in the United Kingdom, the company said on Wednesday.