UNITED KINGDOM

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he was confident the alliance would agree to increase substantially the number of troops battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan

Big banks stepped up warnings on Tuesday that tightening capital rules too soon could stall economic recovery, but policymakers said the bailed out sector cannot rely on taxpayers again in future.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday he was confident the alliance would substantially increase its forces battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Britain's power generators face a coal against gas burning dilemma this winter that extends beyond fuel prices, with high coal stocks, limited coal-fired power plant lifespans, and carbon prices blurring decisions.

Britain's top share index was 0.5 percent lower in mid-session trade on Tuesday as investors paused for breath after a four-day winning streak, with falls in banks and miners offsetting gains in some defensive issues.

The chance of BHP Billiton making another attempt to take over rival Rio Tinto after a bid ban expires later this month is less than 30 percent, Liberum Capital said on Tuesday.

Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Monday revealed new investments in Nestle AG and Exxon Mobil Corp and that it has nearly doubled its investment in Wal-Mart Stores Inc .

Microsoft is plugging social networks into Xbox 360 in an effort to bring more games, entertainment and social experiences all from a single device, the company said on Monday.

With no local economic data released yesterday the Australian dollar bounced around between 0.9320 and 0.9350 for the majority of the Asian day searching for direction. The directionless trade continued well into the evening and throughout the European session only coming to life in North American exchange. Consumer Spending data out of the U.S surprised to the upside triggering a surge in demand for equities and riskier assets in general which benefited the Aussie dollar. At its peak the AUD/US...

Microsoft is launching its Zune media brand outside the US for the first time, a move to grab shares from the dominating Apple iTune after failure to compete with iPod.

Criminal gangs are making millions of dollars out of the H1N1 flu pandemic by selling fake flu drugs over the internet, a web security firm said on Monday.

Google is to talk with Chinese writers and publishers over copyright violations, a move following the search engine's settlement with some Western countries, Global Times reported on Monday.

Criminal gangs are making millions of dollars out of the H1N1flu pandemic by selling fake flu drugs over the internet, a web security firm said on Monday.

Afghanistan will form a new anti-corruption unit to investigate high-level graft after widespread criticism and demands from Washington for it to do more amid a wider regional strategy review.

Britain's largest wine warehouse chain Majestic Wine said it would get a boost from First Quench Retailing's fall into administration as it posted a 9 percent rise in first-half profit and robust current trading.

Belgian holding company Ackermans & van Haaren said on Monday that its third-quarter turnover and operational cash flow was in line with expectations, boosted by full fleet usage in its dredging business.

Criminal gangs are making millions of dollars out of the H1N1 flu pandemic by selling fake flu drugs over the internet, a web security firm said on Monday.

A former prostitute whose memoirs were turned into the TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl has revealed her true identity -- Brooke Magnanti, a British research scientist.

The likely $15.5 billion share issuance by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Hitachi Ltd is the latest blow to Japan's long-suffering investors, but it won't be the last.

Champion Enterprises Inc said on Sunday the company and its domestic operating subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy, and that it hopes to go through a court-supervised sale of its U.S. operations.

The Aussie dollar shrugged off weak European GDP data to hold on to support at 0.9260 and rally on Friday night. Greenback weakness emerged following disappointing University of Michigan and Trade Balance data which assisted the Aussie in its rally to finish the week on its highs at 0.9340. The week ahead sees the release of several key figures with the RBA's minutes to the recent meeting kicking off proceedings on Tuesday to be followed by more RBA speak on Wednesday and the release of Q3 Wage ...