English news - Business 1555

2007-12-05 08:12:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Bus and rail group Stagecoach reported a 9 percent rise in first-half underlying profit on Wednesday and said it was confident of its prospects for the rest of the year. Profit before tax and exceptional items was 84.6 million pounds in

2007-12-05 08:11:30

Interest rates were increased to 5.75% in July as the Bank of England tried to rein in inflation. The move meant many home owners faced higher mortgage repayments, while credit card debts may also have been costing them more. Savers, however, should have

2007-12-05 08:08:06

Oil prices have fallen by about $10 a barrel in the past week Oil prices remained steady ahead of a meeting in Abu Dhabi of oil producers' cartel Opec, which is under pressure to raise output to dampen prices. A barrel of US light sweet crude rose eight

2007-12-05 07:58:00

One in five investors has moved money out of the stock market because of the recent credit squeeze, research is showing. Around 21% of people said they had shifted some of their assets into more cautious investments, such as cash or bonds during the three

2007-12-05 07:57:04

MOSCOW, December 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's investment index will open Wednesday at 903.22 points, up 0.91% following Tuesday evening's sessions on major world trading floors. The Russian Industrial Leaders Index (RUXX) is a composite economic index of

2007-12-05 07:53:00

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The government has drawn up a bill to nationalise Northern Rock if the struggling lender fails to strike a deal with a private buyer, the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday. The government is working with Conservatives in hopes of

2007-12-05 07:50:00

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Telecom giant BT Group will buy Singapore IT firm Frontline Technologies for S$202 million (67.95 million pounds), in a bid to expand its Asian business, the Singapore firm said on Wednesday. BT will pay 24.5 Singapore cents for

2007-12-05 07:46:46

Shoppers are one of the biggest drivers of the UK's economic growth UK consumer confidence has seen its biggest decline in three years during November because of higher interest rates and prices, a report says. Mortgage lender Nationwide said its gauge o

2007-12-05 07:28:00

An advertisement for breast enlargement surgery has been condemned for promoting the operation as being "easy". The Harley Medical Group's posters on the London Underground showed a bikini-clad woman before and after her breast enhancements.A third poster

2007-12-05 07:27:00

LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index is seen opening 18-20 points higher on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, having closed down 71.4 points, or 1.1 percent at 6,315.2 in the previous session.