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RBS chairman denies he threatened to quit over Hester's bonus
Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, has denied that he and the rest of his board had threatened to resign en masse over chief executive Stephen Hester's £963,000 bonus Comments (4)
BT profits surge by 48%
BT shares have risen 3.3% to a four-year high as the telecoms giant boosted profits, despite another dip in revenues and some renewed concern over its pension liabilities Comments (1)Insolvencies on the rise
Insolvency practitioners warned of even worse to come as official figures have revealed a 7% rise in the number of firms going bust in the past year Comments
Service sector powers UK away from a double-dip
Chancellor George Osborne's hopes of avoiding a double-dip recession have been given a massive boost after a stunning January for the UK's powerhouse services sector Comments (5)Sale and rent back halted
The City watchdog has clamped down on the much-criticised sale and rent back industry, which preyed on struggling homeowners Comments (1)
Stepping down: BP's ex-safety tsar heads for exit
Sir Bill Castell, BP's former safety tsar who received a bloody nose at last year's AGM, is to sever ties completely with the oil giant Comments (2)
Takeover talks back on for Misys
IT firm Misys has said it is in merger discussions with Swiss counterpart Temenos in a possible £2 billion tie-up Comments
Peston on bankers' pay
UK economy forecast to shrink again
Britain's economy will fall into recession in the first half of the year and the Government needs to ease up on its tough package of spending cuts, an influential thinktank has warned Comments (5)Taxman squeezes big firms for extra £4bn
The taxman clawed back a record £4.06 billion from Britain's biggest companies last year, as HM Revenue & Customs ramped up investigations into the country's biggest corporate accounts Comments (1)
Hamleys to expand as global strategy pays off
Hamleys, the toys specialist, posted robust festive sales in the UK, although its international business was the group's star performer CommentsJobs fragile at glass maker Pilkington
Glass manufacturer Pilkington is to cut production at a UK factory under plans to axe 3,500 jobs worldwide Comments
LVMH beats forecasts with net profit up 34%
Luxury goods group LVMH has reported a forecast beating 34% rise in profits proving luxury is still firmly in fashion Comments
Compass wins in the US despite basketball strike
The 149-day strike by US basketball stars in the autumn disrupted more than just the NBA season: Compass, the world's biggest caterer, has admitted it knocked 1% of its revenue growth this year CommentsUnilever's developing aim
Consumer goods giant Unilever has warned of a difficult 2012 on Thursday due to a tough economic outlook after broadly matching 2011 sales forecasts after it hiked prices and saw strong emerging market growth Comments
Builders in the slow lane
Britain's builders were stuck in first gear in January as industry growth slowed to a crawl, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply has said Comments
Glencore and Xstrata set for £50bn mining mega-merger
Glencore, the world's largest commodities trader, is set to merge with miner Xstrata in a deal that is worth just over £50 billion Comments (2)Evolution deal helps Investec in 'volatile' times
Investec saw its assets under management rise slightly in the last nine months of 2011, but only due to its £230 million acquisition of Evolution Securities in September CommentsUK to blame as battery supplier loses power
Electrocomponents, which supplies batteries, cables and power tools to engineers around the world, saw a sharp decline in sales growth in January CommentsWalker Crips at nine-year low after profit alert
Stockbroker and fund manager Walker Crips has issued a profits warning as it said share trading levels had been particularly weak in the final quarter of 2011 CommentsRBS and HSBC caught up in Swiss Libor probe
Swiss authorities today said they are investigating a dozen US, European and Japanese banks suspected of conspiring to manipulate interbank lending rates used to set interest rates on hundreds of trillions of dollars of securities Comments
Pension anger at £2.1m-an-hour Shell
Shell took another hammering over the closure of its UK final salary pension plan today after announcing that profits leapt by more than half last year - to £2.1 million an hour Comments (5)
Facebook hopes online payments plan will woo investors
Facebook is putting the expansion of its online payments business at the heart of its long-term growth plans, as it seeks to woo investors to its $75bn-$100bn stock market flotation Comments (1)
Astra to axe another 7350 jobs as drugs woe grows
AstraZeneca has set out plans to fire another 7350 staff, after admitting revenues would fall this year because of the expiry of patents on key drugs and governments demanding discounts CommentsDeutsche Bank slumps
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, saw its profits fall 70% in the final quarter of last year, meaning its retiring chief executive Josef Ackermann had to bow out on a distinctly downbeat note Comments (1)Office space shortage helps Great Portland
London developer Great Portland Estates is bucking a gloomy economic backdrop as the worst shortage of space in 20 years buoys rents in the capital Comments (1)
FRIDAY UPDATE
Admiral steadies the ship after its long spell of rough sailing
It has been choppy sailing for Admiral recently, but the insurer has been enjoying rather clearer conditions
Pears clan's £22m property profit
Another fine year for Mark, Trevor and David Pears according to just-released accounts for their property company, William Pears Family Holdings
