Home News National News

Government commits to extra carriages on Liverpool-London line

TRANSPORT ministers have placed an order for 106 new Pendolino rail carriages for the West Coast main line which links Liverpool to London. Read

Rank reports modest improvement

Gaming firm Rank today said there had been a “modest improvement” in trading at its Mecca bingo halls, despite a 13% fall in admissions this year. Read

Easyjet blames fuel costs as half-year losses double

Budget airline easyJet said today that soaring fuel costs caused half-year losses to more than double as it warned that the rocketing cost of crude oil would put many players out of business. Read

Lloyds TSB reveals credit crunch hit

Banking group Lloyds TSB today revealed a further £387 million hit from the credit crunch, but signalled there would be no need for a cash call to investors. Read

Financial police beef up prosecution team

The team investigating illegal market practices including insider training has more than doubled in size, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said today. Read

FTSE preview: Consumer confidence set to be revealed

A trading update from Next and half-year results from easyJet should give an indication of consumer confidence this week. Read

Microsofts wooing of Yahoo comes to nothing

Microsoft’s attempt to land search engine Yahoo came to nothing today after the two sides failed to agree an acceptable sale price. Read

Redrow set for £1.3bn merger with Bellway?

Construction firms Bellway and Redrow were today the subject of speculation about a £1.3 billion merger to create one of the UK’s biggest housebuilders. Read

Overcautious lenders "hindering recovery"

The banks behind the lending boom which came to a spectacular end last summer are now hindering the recovery of the financial system by being too cautious, the Bank of England warned today. Read

Hornby to buy Corgi

Model train firm Hornby today said it had struck a £7.5 million deal to buy Corgi, one of the world’s oldest makers of model trains, cars and buses. Read

Good start to the year for National Express group

Rail, bus and coach operator National Express today matched its rivals by reporting a strong start to the year. Read

BSkyB on target for 10 million customers

BSkyB today said its target of 10 million customers in 2010 remained in view after adding 56,000 customers in the first three months of this year. Read

Silverjet gets cash injection

Business class airline Silverjet today said a Middle Eastern investor had agreed to pump 25 million US dollars (£12.7m) into the struggling group. Read

Foreign brewers expected to take control at Scottish and Newcastle

The UK’s biggest brewer, Scottish & Newcastle, is expected to fall into foreign hands today after its £7.8 billion takeover by rivals Heineken and Carlsberg. Read

HBOS asks shareholders for £4bn

The UK’s biggest mortgage lender, Halifax Bank of Scotland, today called on shareholders for £4 billion to strengthen its balance sheet. Read

FTSE preview: The week ahead

First-quarter results from oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell will drive interest this week, alongside updates from hotel and leisure group Whitbread and Argos owner Home Retail Group. Read

Whitbread profits rise against expectations

The owner of the Beefeater, Costa Coffee and Premier Inn chains posted better than expected pre-tax profits today, as it said it was confident of growing the business through a consumer downturn. Read

HBOS tipped to ask shareholders for £4bn

Shares in the UK’s biggest mortgage lender held firm today despite speculation that it will ask shareholders for as much as £4 billion this week. Read

Pub chain backs bid to ban Alistair Darling

Britain’s biggest pub chain today backed a bid to ban Chancellor Alistair Darling from every pub in the land. Read

Persimmon revenues running 24% lower

Housebuilder Persimmon today said revenues were running 24% lower this year after a further deterioration in the market over the past three weeks. Read