Britain's top share index looked set to end the month crawling into positive territory by midday on Friday as U.S. data from the previous session helped lift banks, offsetting weak commodities.
European shares were little changed in midmorning trade on Friday after sharp gains in the previous session on data showing the U.S. had emerged from recession, with firmer banks offsetting weaker energy stocks.
The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9140. The Aussie spent most of the local session beneath US90 cents yesterday but bounced back to life offshore after U.S. economic growth data came in higher than anticipated. The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 per cent annual pace in the September quarter prompting a rally in stocks and commodities and a move by investors back into high-yielding currencies.
People who have a compulsive urge to collect and clutter their homes with junk can partly attribute their problem to genes, a new study confirms.
The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 1330 GMT on Thursday.
Weakness in energy stocks, pulled lower by downbeat results from Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), offset gains from banks and miners leaving Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE off 0.3 percent by midsession on Thursday.
The Australian Dollar opens sharply lower this morning against the greenback at 0.8964 after yesterday's key inflation data.
Britain is to push ahead with a law to clamp down on illegal file sharing, that would start with a series of warning letters and could result in repeat offenders losing their Internet connection.
Centrica Plc, owner of the British Gas brand, will sell a 50 percent stake in three wind farms to U.S. based TCW, signaling renewed investment interest in an industry where recession has crimped financing.
Somali pirates holding two Britons captive aboard a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation warned Britain not to try to rescue the couple.
Centrica Plc, owner of the British Gas brand, will sell a 50 percent stake in three wind farms to U.S. based TCW, signalling renewed investment interest in an industry where recession has crimped financing.
Big energy and engineering companies will reap most profit from a climate deal due in December, as they use their financial and intellectual clout to grab low carbon subsidies
Childhood cancer survivors are 18 times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than the general population, UK researchers report.
Patients with non-operable head and neck cancers should be given chemo- and radiotherapy at the same time, as it more than doubles the time they live without the disease getting worse, British scientists said on Wednesday.
Britpop icons Pulp are not planning to reunite for Britain's Glastonbury music festival next June, despite reports that singer Jarvis Cocker had been in talks with the band, his spokesperson said Tuesday.
International movie distributors have shunned a film on exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer, whom China condemns as a separatist, because they fear Beijing's wrath, the film's producer said on Tuesday.
Britain's leading shares were 1.8 percent lower around midday on Wednesday, with falls by heavyweight oils, miners and banks dragging the FTSE 100 .FTSE index to a three-week low.
Global consumer confidence is rebounding, and in the United States has risen for the first time since 2007, amid signs the world economy is picking up although spending is still restrained, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The European Union will on Wednesday approve Britain's plan to break up failed bank Northern Rock, paving the way for a split in early 2010 and the eventual sale of parts of the bank, a source familiar with the situation said.
The Australian Dollar opens little-changed today against its U.S. counterpart at 0.9150. Despite a poor lead from local equities, the Aussie held onto support around the 0.9130 where buyers emerged pushing it up towards an intraday high of 0.9182. Supporting the unit was a positive quarterly NAB business confidence survey which increased by 20 points.
Iran wants major amendments within the framework of a U.N. nuclear fuel deal which it broadly accepts, state media said, a move that could unravel the plan and expose Tehran to the threat of harsher sanctions.
Investors are shunning European bank shares after an EU-imposed break-up and retrenchment of Dutch ING Groep sparked fears Belgium's KBC and UK peers face tougher-than-expected sanctions in return for state aid.
