UNITED KINGDOM

Autumn selling boosted British housebuilders Berkeley Group and Bellway, but uncertainties such as a looming general election, unemployment and mortgage shortages are curbing enthusiasm.

European shares fell for a second straight session on Friday, led down by weak financial stocks, with trading volumes low as investors remained cautious ahead of keenly watched U.S. payrolls data later in the session.

Caution ahead of a key jobs report from the United States weighed on banks and other cyclical stocks, pushing Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE share index 0.5 percent lower by midsession on Friday.

Caution ahead of a key jobs report from the United States weighed on banks and other cyclical stocks, pushing Britain's FTSE 100.FTSE share index 0.5 percent lower by midsession on Friday.

Asian stocks held most of the week's gains before monthly U.S. jobs data on Friday, although property and bank shares fell in many markets as soft U.S. data raised concerns about the pace of economic recovery.

The British university of East Anglia announced Thursday to probe into allegations that its scientists manipulated data about global warming.

The Aussie gained ground ahead of yesterdays Australian Retail Sales data release pressing against 0.9290 only moments before the announcement. With consumer spending during the month of October coming in right on markets expectations of a 0.3% increase the reaction was relatively subdued and the AUD continued to hover around this level. During Afternoon Asian trade however demand re-emerged to push it above the 93 cent mark with offshore markets continuing the theme. Resistance ahead of 0.9320 ...

The director of a U.K research unit has said he is standing down from his post after hundreds of private e-mails were published on the internet when a computer hacker breached the security of the CRU database in November and stole numerous materials that are skeptical about climate change.

Kraft Foods will post its offer document to Cadbury Plc shareholders on Friday, triggering a two-month 9.8 billion pound ($16.4 billion) takeover fight, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.

Kraft Foods will post its offer document to Cadbury Plc shareholders on Friday, triggering a two-month 9.8 billion pound ($16.4 billion) takeover fight, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.

The British university caught in the center of what climate skeptics are calling ClimateGate, said on Thursday it's called an outside reviewer to lead the investigation. Ex-civil servant Sir Muir Russell will head the probe into the hacked e-mails and documents from the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in the UK last month.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was arrested by British police late on Wednesday on suspicion of assault and released on bail after questioning on Thursday.

Italy will send around 1,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan as part of U.S. President Barack Obama's planned troop increase, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview published on Thursday.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan reassured top officials on Thursday that Washington was not planning an early exit, part of a charm offensive to sell President Barack Obama's new strategy on three continents.

When General Electric Co sells its control of NBC Universal to Comcast Corp, it will begin an exit from a relationship formed at the dawn of television.

H1N1 swine flu has not peaked yet but seems to be waning in Canada and the United States, signalling that the end of the pandemic may be on the horizon, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday.

A New Media Superpower; Heading off a Backlash at Goldman; Unease on Recovery

Four British banks have a $5 billion combined exposure to Dubai World, making them the biggest foreign creditor group at the Dubai state-owned conglomerate, the Financial Times said on Thursday.

The grandfather of David Beckham, Joseph West, passed away Wednesday following a battle with lung cancer at the age of 83.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc warned it could struggle to hire and retain key staff after the UK government demanded control of bonuses as a condition for insuring its bad debts.

The Aussie dollar bounced from an early morning dip to 0.9235 yesterday to trade within a whisker of the 93 cent handle overnight buoyed by gains in commodity and equity markets.