The Week's Big Business Stories

Once you've caught up on last week's business news, you can get ahead on what's coming up next week with Sky's Week Ahead. :: Monday, June 2 On Monday at 6.30pm, Sky News launches its new flagship business show, Ian King Live. Also on Monday, Apple...

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Regional Home Price Disparity Widens In April

Help To Buy: 80% Go To First Time Buyers Updated: 3:26pm UK, Thursday 29 May 2014 Some 80% of the Help To Buy loans granted in the mortgage scheme's first six months were given to first time buyers, the Treasury has said. A total of 7,313 loans were...

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Retailers' Credit Union To Defy Payday Lenders

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor Some of Britain's biggest high street names, including New Look and Next, are forming a credit union that will offer staff an alternative to the sky-high interest rates charged by payday lenders. Sky News has learnt...

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UK Economic Growth At 11-Year High: CBI Survey

A survey of more than 700 UK firms has indicated the strongest rate of economic growth since data was first collected more than a decade ago. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said its poll of 726 companies showed May growth expansion at its...

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Insurers Expose £1.3bn In Fraudulent Claims

A record £1.3bn worth of fraudulent insurance claims were uncovered last year as the industry continues to crack down on cheats. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said some £3.5m worth of dishonest claims are uncovered every day. The figures...

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Regional Home Price Disparity Widens In April

Help To Buy: 80% Go To First Time Buyers Updated: 3:26pm UK, Thursday 29 May 2014 Some 80% of the Help To Buy loans granted in the mortgage scheme's first six months were given to first time buyers, the Treasury has said. A total of 7,313 loans were...

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Tesco Signs Deal For China Joint Venture

Britain's biggest supermarket chain has signed a partnership deal to form China's biggest food retailer. The joint venture will see Tesco combine its 131 outlets with China Resources Enterprise's (CRE) Vanguard business that already has 2,986 stores....

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Centrica Confirms Exit Of Weston To Aggreko

The top boss at British Gas is to leave the company, amid a management shake-up at the UK's biggest energy supplier. Centrica issued a statement saying Chris Weston, managing director of its international downstream business, had tendered his resignation...

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Help To Buy: Most Loans Go To First Time Buyers

Some 80% of the Help To Buy loans granted in the mortgage scheme's first six months were given to first time buyers, the Treasury has said. A total of 7,313 loans were issued between October last year and March this year, with a total value of £1bn....

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Nationwide Pre-Tax Profit Up 303% To £677m

The Nationwide building society has reported an annual pre-tax statutory profit of £677m, up more than 300% on the figure last year. It said that total income for the year ended April 4 was up 16%, at £2.9bn. The mutual added that gross mortgage lending...

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GSK Probed By SFO In UK Over Bribe Claims

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) over alleged bribery, it has been confirmed. The west London-based pharmaceutical firm, the world's sixth largest, said the SFO has opened a "formal criminal investigation"....

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Political Battle Over Who Can Make Scots Richer

The battle for Scotland moved to a scrap over who would put more money in the pockets of the Scottish people as conflicting economic visions were presented by each side. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander claimed staying with the UK would...

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InterContinental Rebuffs Secret £6bn US Bid

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The FTSE-100 hospitality provider InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has rejected a secret takeover bid from the US which valued the company at about £6bn. Sky News has learnt that IHG's board met a few weeks ago...

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Blackstone In Joint Bid For Friends' Tax Arm

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The private equity giant Blackstone has joined forces with a US-based specialist insurer to table a bid for the tax planning arm of Friends Life, the FTSE-100 financial services group. Sky News understands that Blackstone...

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AstraZeneca 'Must Link Pay To New Targets'

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor AstraZeneca should link future executive pay to the price that its board signalled it would be willing to sell the company for, a leading shareholder has told it in a move which intensifies the pressure on it to justify...

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RBS And NatWest Hit By Mobile Banking Glitch

Mobile banking services for RBS and NatWest have been hit by an IT glitch, along with an unconnected problem that affected some Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland online users. In a statement given to Sky News, a spokesperson for RBS Group said: "Some...

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Blackstone In Joint Bid For Friends' Tax Arm

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The private equity giant Blackstone has joined forces with a US-based specialist insurer to table a bid for the tax planning arm of Friends Life, the FTSE-100 financial services group. Sky News understands that Blackstone...

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InterContinental Rebuffs Secret £6bn US Bid

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The FTSE-100 hospitality provider InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has rejected a secret takeover bid from the US which valued the company at about £6bn. Sky News has learnt that IHG's board met a few weeks ago...

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RBS And NatWest Hit By Mobile Banking Glitch

Mobile banking services for RBS and NatWest have been hit by an IT glitch, along with an unconnected problem that affected some Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland online users. In a statement given to Sky News, a spokesperson for RBS Group said: "Some...

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Blackstone In Joint Bid For Friends' Tax Arm

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The private equity giant Blackstone has joined forces with a US-based specialist insurer to table a bid for the tax planning arm of Friends Life, the FTSE-100 financial services group. Sky News understands that Blackstone...

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InterContinental Rebuffs Secret £6bn US Bid

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor The FTSE-100 hospitality provider InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has rejected a secret takeover bid from the US which valued the company at about £6bn. Sky News has learnt that IHG's board met a few weeks ago...

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Barclays Fined £26m Over Trader's Gold Fixing

Barclays Bank has been fined more than £26m by the City watchdog over failings related to gold price manipulation by one of its former traders. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank failed to adequately manage conflicts of interest between...

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New Trains In Seven-Year Rail Franchise Win

Three new state-of-the-art electric train fleets are to be rolled out on the busiest rail routes in London and the South East. The new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise will be run by Govia, with rival FirstGroup missing out....

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RBS And NatWest Hit By Mobile Banking Glitch

Mobile banking services for RBS and NatWest have been hit by an IT glitch, along with potential problems affecting Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland. In a statement given to Sky News, a spokesperson for RBS Group said: "We are aware that some customers...

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Meet Darkcoin - Bitcoin's Shadowy Cousin

Cryptocurrency Darkcoin - known as the shadowy cousin of Bitcoin - is booming. In just one month, the value of the little-known alternative online currency has soared from 75 cents (45p) to $7 (£4.14). Its main selling point is its increased anonymity...

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Royal Mail Posts £430m In Full-Year Profits

Royal Mail has reported an operating profit of £430m in its first full-year results since privatisation. The figure for the 12 months to March, after transformation costs, is up from £403m in the previous year - a rise of 6.7%. But the company warns...

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Zoopla 'Worth £1.2bn' After Stock Market Float

Zoopla, the UK's second-largest property website, has announced plans to float on the stock exchange with a proposed value of £1.2bn. The sale of at least 25% of the firm, which only launched in 2008, aims to tap into the upturn in the housing market....

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Royal Mail Launches Sunday Parcel Deliveries

Royal Mail is to start delivering parcels and opening delivery offices on Sundays, in response to the rapid growth of online shopping. The recently-privatised firm says parcels will be delivered on Sundays later this summer to addresses within the M25. ...

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UK Retail Sales Growth Hits 10-Year High

A late Easter helped boost UK retail sales to a 7.7% growth rate year-on-year, officially relased figures have revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes jumped by 1.3% on the March figure, and 6.9% on the year - the...

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SSE Sees Profit Up 9.6% Amid Price Hikes

Energy giant SSE has seen its full-year adjusted pre-tax profit rise by 9.6% to £1.55bn, just months after announcing price increases. But it saw the retail division operating profit fall 28.6% to £292m in the year to March 31 as energy usage plunged...

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Consumer Inflation Rises In April To 1.8%

The consumer prices index (CPI) for April hit 1.8%, according to officially released figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was a rise of 0.2% on the March figure. The rise was more than expected, up from its lowest level in more...

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M&S Annual Profits Drop For Third Year In A Row

Marks and Spencer has a revealed a 3.9% drop in full-year underlying pre-tax profit to £623m. It was the third annual profit fall in a row for the high street icon. The company said its like-for-like UK sales for general merchandise, which includes...

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House Prices Up As PM Mulls Help To Buy Future

House prices have risen 8% in the year to March, figures have shown, as David Cameron said he would "consider" changes to the Help To Buy scheme if advised to do so by the Bank of England. While the increase is down on the 9.2% rise announced in February,...

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Ryanair Profits Slide 8% Amid Falling Fares

Ryanair has seen an 8% drop in full-year net profit, its first decline for five years. The airline said earnings for the 12 months to the end of March were €523m (£425m), down from €569m (£465m) a year earlier. The company had previously warned of...

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AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer's 'Final Offer'

AstraZeneca Rejects Pfizer: Full Statement Updated: 8:09am UK, Monday 19 May 2014 The Board of AstraZeneca PLC ("AstraZeneca" or the "Company") notes the announcement by Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") of its final proposal (the "Final Proposal"), comprising...

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