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

Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA), Europe's biggest discount airline, boosted full-year profit 13 percent as it added routes and planes to target short-haul markets in which full-service operators are struggling to stem losses.

The shares tumbled 20.5pc to 177.9p as 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.

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.

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.

Not quite a year after arriving at Yahoo! from Google, chief executive Marissa Mayer has apparently persuaded her board to approve the purchase of Tumblr - the go-to website for legions of young bloggers and internet sharers - for $1.1bn in cash, despite it ...

... 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 � FirstGroup launches rights issue as profits crash � Google chief ...

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

... higher. � DAX hits record high and FTSE 100 reaches highest level since October 2007, but can it last? � But Italian industrial orders slump 10% year-on-year � Japan's cabinet office more upbeat.

House prices have shot up so far that buyers must earn more than �62,000 - twice the UK's average salary - to afford the average asking price of quarter of a million pounds.