Business News

Bank split three ways on rates again in Aug
Bank of England policymakers were split three ways in August for a second month running, with one voting to hike interest rates, another to cut but the remaining seven deciding to keep borrowing costs steady at 5 percent. Bumper oil receipts boost public finances in July
Bumper tax revenues from North Sea oil companies helped public finances swing into surplus in July but the government still faces an uphill battle to meet its full-year borrowing forecasts. HP results top Wall Street targets
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard <HPQ.N> results beat Wall Street targets as net profit rose 14 percent, subduing fears that slowing economies and a stronger dollar would weaken the world's biggest computer and printer maker and its rivals. BAA must sell 3 airports
Spanish builder Ferrovial must sell three of the seven airports it bought for 10 billion pounds two years ago under a tougher-than-expected ruling on Wednesday. Commodities and China hopes lift FTSE in early trade
The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> rose by 0.5 percent early on Wednesday, after heavy losses in the previous session, as commodities tracked higher crude and metal prices, and investors banked on sustained Chinese economic growth. Asia stocks plumb two-year low
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell to a two-year low on Wednesday, down 30 percent from a peak hit in November, as the past month's $30 drop in the price of oil has not been enough to shake a sense of fear about sharply slowing global growth. Online retail sales up 11 percent in July
Online retail sales in Britain rose by 11.3 percent in July compared to the month before as wet weather boosted online clothing sales while electrical sales also soared, a report said on Wednesday. Nat Exp and Stagecoach on rail bid shortlist
(Reuters) The Department for Transport (DfT) on Wednesday announced the shortlist of four bidders for the operation of the South Central rail franchise, which included National Express <NEX.L>'s NXSC Trains and Stagecoach's <SGC.L> Southern Trains. Buyout group raises offer for Australia's Indophil
A consortium bidding for Australian-listed prospector Indophil Resources NL <IRN.AX> raised its offer on Wednesday, hoping to trump a rival offer by Xstrata Ltd <XTA.L>. Turquoise targets 5 pct of Europe volume
Alternative equities trading platform Turquoise aims to win 5 percent of European volume by the year end, managing director Eli Lederman said in an interview with the Les Echos newspaper on Wednesday.