2016-03-01



Here is the latest Business stories from the BBC.

FTSE 100 higher despite Barclays fall

The London market opens higher, helped by news of a potential bidding war for the London Stock Exchange, but shares in Barclays fall after its latest results.

NYSE owner considers bid for LSE

The London Stock Exchange could face a rival bid from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.

Commodity slump hits Glencore profits

Mining and commodity trader Glencore reports a 32% drop in full-year profits as the company is hit by weak commodity prices.

Greggs to close Scottish bakery

High street chain Greggs announces it is to close three UK bakeries, including one in Edinburgh.

Eurozone jobless rate falls to 10.3%

Unemployment in the eurozone dropped again in January to its lowest rate since August 2011.

China court ‘jails 24 over $1.5bn scam’

A Chinese court has sentenced 24 people to jail for raising $1.5bn through a scam that saw hundreds of thousands of people cheated of their money, according to state media.

Barclays reports fall in profits

Barclays reports a drop in full-year profits, and announces plans to cut its dividend and sell down its stake in its Africa business.

China shares higher on liquidity boost

Chinese shares trade higher after a fresh stimulus push from the central bank to boost liquidity.

Five star dining or burger joint from hell?

The tech firms trying to make online reviews more believable

How 3D printing is shaking up high end dining

How 3D tech is changing fine dining

Supercars set to roar off the block

Supercars set to roar off the block

VIDEO: Financial spring clean

March is a time for spring cleaning and an expert suggests that it is also a good time to freshen up your finances.

VIDEO: Could gourmet dishes be printed?

How 3D printing is revolutionising the gourmet dining industry.

VIDEO: South Korea’s answer to Silicon Valley

South Korea is investing $70bn in a bid to create a hi-tech industry to rival Silicon Valley.

Women have ‘half’ the pensions of men

Women have barely half the occupational pension savings of men, according to a report from the TUC.

Judge backs Apple in new access fight

A US judge rules that Apple cannot be forced to give the FBI access to a locked iPhone in a case that echoes an ongoing legal battle.

VW boss warns US deal could cost more

Volkswagen’s boss has warned that a deal with US authorities over its emissions scandal could take longer and cost much more than expected.

VIDEO: New Day newspaper: Hit or a miss?

Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Mirror, has launched a new daily title.

Google self-driving car hits a bus

One of Google’s self-driving cars crashed into a bus in California last month. There were no injuries.

Valeant under investigation by SEC

Valeant Pharmaceuticals is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, it has confirmed.

Record fine for cold-calling firm

A Brighton-based firm, Prodial, has been given the largest ever fine for cold calling from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

New measures to speed up house building

New measures to speed up house building in Scotland include plans to call-in appeals for developments bigger than 100 units

VIDEO: The power station inside a mountain

Scottish Power is planning to double the size of its hydro-electric power plant which creates and stores energy.

Dell wins EU approval for $67bn EMC deal

European regulators approve Dell’s $67bn bid to buy EMC, the world’s largest data storage company.

Argentina ends 15-year $95bn bond fight

Argentina signs an agreement with US hedge funds to settle what has been described as a “pitched battle” over its failure to repay $95bn worth of bonds.

Viewpoint: Why Narendra Modi’s budget looks strangely familiar

Why Modi’s plan looks strangely familiar

Andy Murray backs five UK start-ups

Tennis star Andy Murray makes his first investments of 2016 in UK start-up firms through the crowdfunding platform Seedrs.

Genel shares drop on oil estimate cut

Shares in Genel, the oil explorer chaired by former BP boss Tony Hayward, slump to a record low after it reduced the estimated value of a key field by $1bn.

Thai Airways sees return to profit

Thai Airways posts a profit in the three months to December, reversing its fortunes from the same period a year ago and softening its full-year losses.

Tokyo 2020 signs Mitsubishi as sponsor

Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi Electric has signed up as a sponsor of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Big rise in consumer credit in January

Consumers borrowed a further £1.6bn in January, the second-highest level for more than a decade, the Bank of England said.

Eurozone tumbles back into deflation

Consumer prices in the eurozone fell sharply in February to minus 0.2%, putting more pressure on the European Central Bank.

Starbucks to open first shop in Italy

Starbucks is taking its boldest step yet by expanding into Italy – the birthplace of the espresso.

New daily newspaper hits the streets

Daily Mirror publisher Trinity Mirror launches the New Day paper – it claims is the first “stand alone” daily national in 30 years.

Raspberry Pi 3 ‘UK’s best-seller’

The Raspberry Pi looks set to become the best-selling British computer yet made surpassing the success of the Amstrad PCW.

Morrisons to sell food through Amazon

Morrisons has expanded its online operations by signing a deal to supply groceries to Amazon customers.

‘900,000 retail jobs could go by 2025’

Rising costs due to the National Living Wage, increasing taxes, and a move to online shopping could hammer the UK retail sector, retailers warn.

India budget to focus on rural economy

The Indian government is set to unveil its budget on Monday as it faces pressure to boost growth while also appealing to the country’s poor.

Is the US undermining India’s solar power programme?

Is the US undermining India’s solar power programme?

Finland: The sick man of Europe?

Is Finland now ‘the sick man of Europe’?

India’s business turnaround king

How one man transformed a company’s fortunes

VIDEO: Ford boss: ‘Run to the fire’

Ford Motor Company boss Mark Fields offers the business advice he wishes he’d been given when he started out, as part of the BBC News series, CEO Secrets.

VIDEO: Why is India’s budget important?

The BBC’s Yogita Limaye tries to explain the importance of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second full budget – against the clock.

Xi critic’s internet account blocked

China shuts down the microblog accounts of outspoken former property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang after he criticised President Xi Jinping.

‘Store more energy in water’

Scottish Power is asking for government support to expand its pumped storage hydro-electric power plant.

Firms call for faster UK broadband

The Institute of Directors (IoD) accuses the UK government of a “poverty of ambition” over broadband, and calls for faster access for homes and businesses.

VIDEO: Buy-to-let investors ‘could face losses’

New tax changes could leave more than a million buy-to-let property owners facing a loss on their investments, according to a new study.

‘New crisis without reform’ warns King

Mervyn King, ex-governor of the Bank of England, warns in a new book that another financial crisis is ‘certain’ unless monetary and banking systems are reformed.

VIDEO: How the Oscars diamond business works

The value of the jewellery worn by those attending the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles runs into millions of dollars. How does the business work?

G20 warns Brexit would be global ‘shock’

Finance ministers from the world’s leading economies warn of a “shock” to the global economy if the UK leaves the European Union.

Dow pays $835m for price fixing scam

Dow Chemical agrees to settle a class action lawsuit after determining the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made victory less likely.

US shares boosted by improved GDP data

US shares rise at the open after the growth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2015 is revised up.

United Technologies says offer too low

The aerospace form United Technologies says a $90.7bn purchase offer from Honeywell understates United Technologies’ value.

US taxpayer data accessed by hackers

The US tax authorities (IRS) said Friday the personal information of a further 390,000 individuals may have been accessed by cyber criminals.

Budget 2016: How will pensions change?

One year after the government’s pension reforms, the chancellor is expected to announce major changes to the way pension contributions are taxed.

Osborne warns of further spending cuts

Chancellor George Osborne tells BBC News he may have to announce further cuts to public spending in the Budget next month.

Is it getting any easier to do business in India?

Is it getting any easier to do business in India?

VIDEO: Maize farming in SA at critical low

The long-standing drought in SA has reached its driest and hottest levels in over a century.

VIDEO: Customise your car, sir?

The BBC went to meet the founders of South Africa’s White Wall Boys, who’ve made it their mission to customise their customers’ cars.

US growth rate revised upwards

The US economy grew at a faster pace than previously thought in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the latest official figures.

VIDEO: What businesses need from governments

Colm O’Regan looks at what it takes to enable businesses to flourish.

VIDEO: Robots, investors and entrepreneurs

The BBC visits India’s biggest-ever conference for tech start-ups where entrepreneurs can meet potential investors.

Nintendo halves profit forecast

Video game giant Nintendo halves its full-year profit forecast, blaming slow sales and the strong yen.

Surge in contactless card payments

One in eight purchases made on UK cards in December used contactless technology, marking a surge in the use of the alternative to loose change.

Sharp falls 11% after takeover delay

Shares in electronics giant Sharp lost 11% in Tokyo amid reports that the delay in its takeover by Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn was due to previously undisclosed losses.

FTSE 100 rises despite RBS share fall

The London market opens higher, adding to Thursday’s gains, but shares in RBS sink 8% after it reports another annual loss.

China seeks to assure G20 over economy

China seeks to assure global finance ministers about the state of its economy, as the G20 meeting gets under way in Shanghai.

Regional house price gap ‘widens’

House prices rose in every region of England and Wales in the past year – but the pace of increase was vastly different, figures show.

UBS charged with tax fraud in Belgium

The Swiss banking giant UBS is charged with money laundering and serious and organised tax fraud in Belgium.

London City Airport bought for £2bn

London City Airport in London’s Docklands has been bought by a consortium led by a major Canadian pension fund for an estimated £2bn.

BA owner IAG reports big rise in profit

British Airways owner IAG says profits for the year rose 64% to €1.8bn (£1.4bn) for the year helped in part by lower fuel prices.

Royal Bank of Scotland posts £2bn loss

Royal Bank of Scotland reports a loss of £1.98bn for 2015, its eighth year of annual losses.

Can Serbia’s farming heritage survive?

Can Serbia’s agricultural traditions survive?

Can we predict Oscar winners using data analytics alone?

The firms that predict the Oscar results in advance

VIDEO: China: the new footballing superpower?

How has China become a big player in football in just a few years and what has driven its growing popularity?

Halliburton cuts a further 5,000 jobs

Oilfield services provider Halliburton announced on Thursday it will cut 5,000 jobs as the company struggles amid falling oil prices.

Woolworths sees 33% fall in profits

Australia’s biggest supermarket chain Woolworths posts a 33% fall in profit for the six months to December and says there is “much to do” to improve its business.

VIDEO: Automatic refunds for c2c train delays

Commuters can now get automatic refunds if their train journeys are delayed by more than two minutes when travelling on c2c trains.

Apple asks court to reverse iPhone order

Apple has asked a US court to overturn an earlier ruling forcing the company to help the FBI break into a phone used by one of the San Bernardino killers.

‘Hard questions’ in Apple phone row

The FBI director has said the row over access to a dead murderer’s iPhone was the “hardest question” he had tackled in his job.

Oil prices spike on output meeting

Crude oil prices reverse early losses following confirmation of a meeting between Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela in March.

VIDEO: Farmer ‘can’t recruit local workers’

Farmer Guy Poskitt explains why he has to rely on recruiting workers from eastern Europe.

US stocks lifted by manufacturing data

Stocks on Wall Street open higher, lifted by better-than-expected manufacturing data.

Beijing is new ‘billionaire capital’

The Chinese capital overtakes New York as the city with the highest number of billionaires for the first time, according to a new report by China-based firm Hurun.

Air passenger duty changes imminent

Air passenger duty (APD) for children aged over 12 and under 16 on economy flights will be abolished from 1 March.

Budweiser owner sees profits drop

The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, which makes Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, reports a drop in annual profits.

Alton Towers owner faces prosecution

The owner of Alton Towers is to be prosecuted over the Smiler rollercoaster crash which left five people seriously injured last year.

Nissan disables app over Leaf hack risk

Nissan suspends an app that allowed hackers to take control of its Leaf cars’ heating and air conditioning systems.

UK economic growth confirmed at 0.5%

UK economic growth in the last three months of 2015 has been confirmed at 0.5%, official figures show, helped by steady consumer spending.

Merlin profits up despite Alton accident

Annual profits at theme parks operator Merlin Entertainments edge up 0.3% despite last year’s Alton Towers accident which left five people injured.

Payments ‘too controlled by big banks’

Big banks should loosen their stranglehold on the system behind the way consumers pay for things to encourage innovation, a regulator says.

Lloyds profits fall on PPI claims

Lloyds Banking Group has reported a 7% fall in annual pre-tax profits to £1.6bn compared with £1.8bn a year earlier.

Sharp accepts $4.3bn Foxconn takeover bid

Struggling electronics giant Sharp has accepted a multi-billion dollar takeover bid from Taiwan’s Foxconn, the first foreign buyout of a major Japanese technology firm

Regulator tells BT to open up network

Communications regulator, Ofcom has said that BT must open up its cable network, so competitors can better connect the internet to homes and offices.

Sharp shares up on takeover reports

Reports that Sharp has accepted a takeover offer from Taiwan’s Foxconn sends shares in the struggling Japanese firm up more than 4.5%.

Crown’s profits slide on China crackdown

Crown Resorts, Australia’s biggest casino company with operations in China, sees its profits tumble as Beijing continues its crackdown on corruption.

Brexit: The Singapore lesson

Lessons from Singapore

Life after oil: can Aberdeen rise again?

Can Aberdeen rise again?

Making money from communist nostalgia

The firms making money from communist nostalgia

France seeks €1.6bn in unpaid Google tax

French authorities are demanding that Google pays €1.6bn in back taxes, substantially more than the sum received by UK tax authorities.

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