The Ernst & Young ITEM Club said �the persistence of high inflation could undermine the Monetary Policy Committee's credibility� and �tie [its] hands�.

The group, which has almost �2bn of net debt, announced the rights issue alongside its full year results on Monday, which showed that pre-tax profits plunged 87pc to �37.2m last year, as it faced a significant turnaround job in both its UK bus and American ...

Marks & Spencer has become the latest in a string of UK companies to face criticism from tax campaigners over the way it structures its online sales to Europe - with one describing its sales operation as similar to that of the internet retail giant Amazon.

Discount airline Ryanair has reported record full-year profits and rising revenues, despite soaring fuel costs. Profits after tax rose 13% to 569m euros (�481m) on revenues of 4.88bn euros for the year to 31 March.

Some of Britain's most successful and eminent business leaders have accused Eurosceptic MPs of putting �politics before economics� and abandoning the national interest in their calls for Britain to leave the European Union.

Marissa Mayer, the former Google executive who is now in charge of Yahoo, is poised to create yet another nothing-to-riches tale in the web industry with the $1.1bn (�720m) acquisition of the blogging site Tumblr.

... Off. � UK business chiefs say 'we need to stay in EU' � Sir Mervyn King: stop 'demonising' bankers � Inflation 'may hamper Carney', warns ITEM Club � Yahoo agrees to buy Tumblr for $1.1bn � M&S under tax spotlight over Irish arm � Google chief criticises ...

Britain's beleaguered High Street continues to see the number of vacant shops increase thanks to recent failures including Comet and Jessops.

A former Google employee has said he is providing evidence to the tax authorities about how the internet giant avoided paying corporation tax in Britain by using its offices in Dublin to finalise deals.

AN INDEPENDENT Scotland would have �significant difficulties� in underwriting personal savings of up to �85,000, the UK Treasury will claim today in a flagship report.