Latest top City stories from the Evening Standard

UK service sector has worst month since 2001 as rising costs and falling demand hit

ECB raises interest rates for first time since June last year in bid to curb soaring inflation

Premium passenger numbers dived 3% at British Airways last month

Barratt Developments is axing around 1,000 jobs to cope with the property crisis

Oil prices hit another record high as Hank Paulson warns there will be no quick fix

Vodafone extends reach across Africa, forking out £452m for majority stake in Ghana Telecom

Price of milk set to soar as cost of diesel used by the dairy lorries climbs

Discount retailer Poundstretcher rejects takeover offer

Sofa retailer ScS Upholstery sinks into administration and sells sole trading subsidiary to Sun Capital

Aga says consumers are trading in old oil-fuelled cookers for new energy-efficient models

Paving specialist Marshalls is axing 140 staff but says orders from commercial market are holding up

Lord Ashcroft and Graham Simpson are looking to sell controlling stake in Watford Leisure

Market Report

Telepone directories group Yell sinks as a leading City broker warns the group may breach its banking covenants, Trinity Mirror continues to fall, Other media companies also down including ITV and Johnston Press on fears for advertising market, Pressure on Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose intensifies as analysts slash millions off profit forecasts for the high street favourite, Supermarket giant Tesco rises on hopes customers cutting back on spending will head through its doors, Sainsbury's slides

FTSE 100 up 8 at 5,434.3

£1 down 0.8 cent, buys $1.9840

€1 down 0.23p, buys 79.47p

€1 down 0.95 cent, buys $1.5765

Dow Jones up 66 at 11,281.50

Nikkei 225 down 20.97 at 13,265.40 - today's close

Tomorrow

Mining giant BHP Billiton's bid for Rio Tinto is in the spotlight again as the deadline for authorities in Brussels to consider the deal arrives; the competition authority is expected to say it has decided to extend the deadline and launch a more in-depth investigation into the takeover

John Lewis's weekly sales figures; the department stores said last week that sales had fallen for the sixth time in seven weeks as consumers tighten their belts

In the US, the markets are closed for Independence Day