Consumer spending in Britain is likely to remain constrained for the foreseeable future, but any slowdown in demand is likely to be modest, the chief executive of fashion retailer Next told reporters. Simon Wolfson also said in a telephone interview that the group was stepping up spending on standalone homewares stores, where new shops are […]

Gold miner Kinross Gold Corp said it will buy the 91 percent of Red Back Mining Inc that it does not already own for around $7bn to create one of the world’s largest gold miners. The company said it will pay around $30.50 Canadian a share in stock and warrants for each Red Back share, […]

British outsourcer Mouchel Plc says it expects its full year results to be at the lower end of expectations as government spending cuts create a difficult trading environment. Mouchel, which provides maintenance for highways in Britain, said that over the past year it secured £650m ($1bn) of new contracts but a lack of clarity over […]

A key lobby group has became the latest body to downgrade Russia’s 2010 crop prospects as the worst drought in 130 years threatened harvests in the major wheat exporter, sending key wheat prices to 22-month highs. The recent jump in US wheat prices followed a 42 percent leap in wheat futures on the Chicago Board […]

Guinea must review billions of dollars worth of mining deals signed since a coup in 2008 to make sure the West African state is getting its fair share of revenue, election front-runner Cellou Dallein Diallo said. Contracts signed by multinationals such as Rio Tinto, Vale, and Chalco should be reviewed fairly, in a way that […]

Metro Bank, Britain’s first new high street retail bank in more than 100 years, opened its doors to customers on July 29, hoping to break into a sector whose reputation has been damaged by the credit crisis

HSBC and BNP Paribas, two of Europe’s top three banks, beat earnings forecasts after bad debts fell sharply, more than offsetting slowing investment banking growth

The pressure on Prudential chief Tidjane Thiam to quit in the wake of the insurer’s failed bid for Asian rival AIA has eased, with big investors refusing to put their weight behind an attempt to remove him. Both Thiam and Pru chairman Harvey McGrath faced calls to step down after the insurer’s $35.5bn bid for […]

The International Monetary Fund has chosen not to call the yuan “substantially” undervalued, a move that recognises China’s efforts to free up its exchange rate and avoids friction with an increasingly influential shareholder. The summary of an annual review of China’s policies omitted the contentious word, used by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn as recently […]

A former Wall Street trader accused with associates of swindling more than $140m from investors is angling for his own reality television show, eager to prove his innocence in the court of public opinion

BP Plc has named American Bob Dudley as its next CEO, saying Tony Hayward would stand down after his gaffe-prone handling of the worst oil spill in US history that triggered a $17bn quarterly loss. Dudley, the US executive managing BP’s response to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, will get the top job […]

Investors have given European banks the benefit of the doubt over stress tests that prompted more transparency from Spanish banks needing to raise capital than from German banks cagey about sovereign debt

Britain’s economy grew almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter of this year, buoyed by a sharp pick-up in services output and the fastest rise in construction output in almost 50 years, according to official data. The Office for National Statistics said GDP jumped 1.1 percent on the quarter, the fastest rise […]

Champagne makers Remy Cointreau and Vranken-Pommery Monopole posted quarterly sales growth, signalling customers were returning to high-end brands after a lull during the financial crisis

China’s presence is visible in Europe through its purchases of bonds as well as large scale investments, the EU’s trade chief reports