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RBS Boss Fights Back Against Bonus FuroreSky News - 16 minutes ago
Paralysed Girl, Six, Sues Driver For MillionsSky News - 25 minutes ago
Council Workers' Pay Frozen For Third YearSky News - 31 minutes ago
Sex Selection Abortion Claims InvestigatedSky News - 33 minutes ago
EasyJet Founder Stelios Loses Pay RowSky News - 44 minutes ago

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Argentine commuter train crashes, killing 49 people
Reuters - 16 hours ago
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - A packed commuter train ploughed into the buffers at a Buenos Aires station during Wednesday's morning rush hour, killing at least 49 people and injuring more than 600 in Argentina's worst rail crash in three decades. Passengers said the force of the collision propelled the second train car inside the first carriage, trapping dozens of people in the wreckage alongside the busy platforms at Once station. Officials said faulty brakes were suspected of causing the accident and witnesses said the train hurtled into the buffers. ... More »Argentine commuter train crashes, killing 49 people
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Ireland raises asset sales target to 3 billion euros
Reuters - Wed, Feb 22, 2012
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government raised its target for the sale of state assets to 3 billion euros (2.5 billion pounds) on Wednesday, unveiling a final list of utilities set to go on the block headed by the energy business of its Bord Gais utility. The government had previously said it was looking to raise 2 billion euros but had indicated it may exceed that after winning approval from its EU/IMF creditors to use some of the proceeds to invest in the economy as well as pay down debt. ... More »Ireland raises asset sales target to 3 billion euros
3
Adele turns tables on TV execs with finger gesture
Reuters - 20 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Singer Adele had the tabloid press up in arms on Wednesday and TV executives running for cover over a middle finger gesture after her moment in the sun at British pop's biggest awards was cut short for programming reasons. The 23-year-old was midway through an acceptance speech at the packed O2 Arena in her native London after picking up the big prize -- best British album for her chart-conquering "21". But because the show was running late, and being broadcast live on ITV, presenter James Corden stepped in to cut Adele short, prompting the "one finger salute". ... More »Adele turns tables on TV execs with finger gesture
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NHS could save £2 billion on empty property - report
Reuters - 14 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - State-funded National Health Service (NHS) could save up to 2 billion pounds by taking better control of its underused and empty properties, which represent 264 soccer pitches worth of space, a report said. The NHS could raise 1 billion pounds by selling half of this 1.9 million square metres of space and could save a further 1 billion pounds through more efficient procurement of goods and services, property consultancy EC Harris said on Thursday. ... More »NHS could save £2 billion on empty property - report
5
Banks shell out £1.9 billion for insurance mis-selling
Reuters - Wed, Feb 22, 2012
LONDON (Reuters) - Lenders paid out a record 441 million pounds in compensation for insurance mis-selling in December, taking payouts for 2011 to 1.9 billion pounds and raising the prospect of an even bigger bill this year. The financial regulator said payouts in December jumped 16 percent from the previous record of 379 million pounds in November. Aside from September, there has been an increase in monthly payouts every month since April, when banks lost a court case to end a long-running legal battle. ... More »Banks shell out £1.9 billion for insurance mis-selling
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New Argos boss has free rein for change
Reuters - 2 hours 6 minutes ago
LONDON (Reuters) - The newly appointed managing director of Argos, the catalogue and store chain, said he has been given a free rein to examine all options for the struggling business, including closing some of its 750 shops. John Walden, a 52-year-old American who started his job at the Home Retail owned business three days ago, told Reuters on Thursday: "They've certainly given me really a complete blank piece of paper and asked me to bring a new perspective to the business without constraints. ... More »New Argos boss has free rein for change
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Irish PM says legal advice on referendum likely in 2/3 weeks
Reuters - Tue, Feb 21, 2012
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday that the state's lawyer is likely to advise within "two to three weeks" on whether the country needs to hold a referendum on a new EU treaty that includes tougher fiscal rules. Irish attitudes towards Europe have cooled during the country's financial crisis and there is no guarantee such a referendum would pass, putting a question mark over Dublin's commitment to the single currency and creating a headache for Brussels. "The government awaits the attorney general's advice.... ... More »Irish PM says legal advice on referendum likely in 2/3 weeks
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Cherie Blair sues over phone hacking
Reuters - 16 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair has begun legal action over the alleged interception of her private phone messages, her lawyer said Wednesday, making her the latest public figure to be drawn into a hacking scandal that has shaken the country's media. Barrister Cherie Blair, 57, issued a statement through a London law firm that has pursued phone-hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers on behalf of several high profile clients. ... More »Cherie Blair sues over phone hacking
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Bank dissent reinvigorates prospects of more QE
Reuters - Wed, Feb 22, 2012
LONDON (Reuters) - The chances of more Bank of England asset-buying to support a fragile economy grew on Wednesday when minutes of February's policy meeting showed two officials sought a bigger increase this month in quantitative easing than was eventually agreed. However, the split among the nine policymakers seems to run deep as some considered doing nothing, worried that inflation may turn out higher than the central bank expects. ... More »Bank dissent reinvigorates prospects of more QE
10
Irish government to unveil asset sale list
Reuters - Wed, Feb 22, 2012
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government will provide a final list of assets on Wednesday that are to be hived off to pay down debt. State assets worth between 2-3 billion euros will go on the block, including the retail division of gas supply company Bord Gais, according to a report in the Irish Independent. The Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin will give details of the state assets to be sold, and how much is expected to be raised from the sales, at 1030 GMT on Wednesday. ... More »Irish government to unveil asset sale list
11
Iran "winning" on oil sanctions - top trader
Reuters - Tue, Feb 21, 2012
LONDON (Reuters) - An increase in world oil prices has more than compensated Iran for revenues lost to lower crude exports because of sanctions imposed by the West, the head of the world's leading oil trader said Tuesday. Ian Taylor, chief executive of privately-held Vitol, said a decline in the value of the euro versus the U.S. dollar had also lifted the cost of dollar-denominated oil sales to European Union countries. "The Iranians now want the price as high as possible as they've got less volumes to sell. I reckon they are probably quite close to winning based on the numbers. ... More »Iran "winning" on oil sanctions - top trader
12
Greek unions stage new protests
AFP - 16 hours ago
Greek unions staged fresh protests Wednesday as parliament took up emergency legislation to implement a massive eurozone bailout and Fitch ratings warned the country was close to default. More »Greek unions stage new protests
13
Rio Tinto finds biggest Australia rough pink diamond
Reuters - 21 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Mining group Rio Tinto has unearthed an extremely rare pink diamond, Australia's biggest rough pink diamond weighing 12.76 carats at its Argyle mine. More than 90 percent of the world's pink diamonds come from the Argyle mine in the East Kimberley region in the far northeast area of Western Australia. The diamond, discovered in the Argyle open pit, will be known as The Argyle Pink Jubilee, Rio Tinto said in a statement. ... More »Rio Tinto finds biggest Australia rough pink diamond
14
Marie Colvin, intrepid and fearless war correspondent
Reuters - 19 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Marie Colvin's final dispatch, published just three days before she and a French photographer were killed by shell and rocket fire, came from a bleak cellar packed with women and children cowering in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Relating the stories of those sheltering in what she called 'the widows' basement', Colvin explained how she had made her way to the pulverised city by crossing into Syria from Lebanon via a secret smugglers' route. ... More »Marie Colvin, intrepid and fearless war correspondent
15
Centrica sees upstream business driving growth
Reuters - 3 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - British utility Centrica expects to deliver improved growth this year helped by higher profits from its upstream oil and gas business, after lower consumption at its supply business pegged back growth in 2011. Centrica, which owns Britain's biggest household energy supplier British Gas, on Thursday said full-year adjusted operating profit was flat year-on-year as higher commodity prices and mild weather drove down power use in Britain. Higher commodity prices, however, benefited the company's UK upstream oil and gas business, where profits grew 33 percent. ... More »Centrica sees upstream business driving growth
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Spain barter economy wins followers in grip of crisis
Reuters - Mon, Feb 20, 2012
MADRID (Reuters) - It's 10.30 on a chilly winter's morning in central Madrid and retailer Emanuela Scena is opening up for business. Her shop is one of several offering second-hand goods that have sprung up in Spain's capital during the economic crisis and is packed to the rafters with clothes, books, CDs and electrical equipment. But unlike the others, it doesn't take cash. It's part of a barter economy in goods and services that is gaining ground as the country tips into recession and already sky-high unemployment rates inch up. ... More »Spain barter economy wins followers in grip of crisis
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Managers investigated in Italian shipwreck probe
AFP - 18 hours ago
Three executives from Europe's biggest cruise ship operator were named Wednesday in a probe into the firm's Costa Concordia tragedy as eight more bodies including a child's were found in the wreck. More »Managers investigated in Italian shipwreck probe
18
Capita bullish on growth as work stacks up
Reuters - 3 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters)) - Early contract wins and a buoyant sales market are making British outsourcing firm Capita confident of better growth prospects this year after a 6 percent profit rise for 2011 that was underpinned by acquisitions. Capita, which runs contact centres and customer services for customers such as BBC TV licensing, The Pension Services and the Criminal Records Bureau, said underlying pretax profit for 2011 was 385.2 million pounds ($603.48 million), helped by a 341 million pounds spend on 21 firms to help support earnings in tough UK markets. ... More »Capita bullish on growth as work stacks up
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Alcohol seen killing 200,000 Britons in next 20 years
Reuters - Mon, Feb 20, 2012
LONDON (Reuters) - Up to 210,000 people in England and Wales will be killed prematurely by alcohol over the next 20 years, with a third of those preventable deaths due to liver disease alone, health experts warned Monday. Other alcohol-related deaths will be due to accidents, violence and suicide, or from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease and cancer, the experts warned in a projection study in the Lancet medical journal. ... More »Alcohol seen killing 200,000 Britons in next 20 years
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Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys most of Peacocks
Reuters - 16 hours ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Clothing retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill is to acquire two thirds of discount clothing retailer Peacocks stores, in a deal which will see 6,000 jobs saved, Peacocks' administrators KPMG said on Wednesday. The administrators said in a statement that Edinburgh Woollen Mill agreed to buy 388 stores from Cardiff-headquartered Peacocks, but the other 224 stores would be closed immediately, leading to 3,100 redundancies. Peacocks called administrators in and was put up for sale in January after succumbing to falling sales and high debts. ... More »Edinburgh Woollen Mill buys most of Peacocks