Worries the US was closer to bringing its economic stimulus measures to an end and concern over the state of the Chinese economy triggered a huge global sell-off today, with the FTSE 100 falling from its highest level in thirteen years.

Mothercare is crawling towards a recovery as chief executive Simon Calver insisted the UK company was on target to break even within two years.

The boss of Flybe has hit out at "punitive" charges and taxes that have pushed the troubled regional airline to end flights in and out of London from next March.

The updated figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK's dominant services sector, which accounts for three quarters of national output, drove the recovery - growing 0.6pc over the three months.

There was no relief for ARM Holdings today after analysts at Exane BNP provided sceptics with plenty of ammunition for their bear case against the microchip designer.

The annual report from Britain's biggest retailer revealed that Richard Brasher, the former head of Tesco in the UK, was paid �1.3m to leave and Tim Mason, who led the company's US arm Fresh & Easy, collected �1.7m in �liquidated damages�.

David Cameron has appointed a former lobbyist for British Gas to be his personal advisor on energy and climate change. Tara Singh, whose previous role as public affairs manager at British-Gas owner Centrica involved frequent contact with the Conservative ...

JPMorgan's UK wealth management business has been fined nearly �3.1m for failing to keep complete and up-to-date client files, a shortcoming that put customers at risk of receiving unsuitable investment advice.

Car parts and cycles retailer Halfords has unveiled a three-year strategy to boost its sales after unveiling a 22 per cent plunge in annual profits.

The newspaper will become part of a new �Professional� unit in a yet-to-be-decided structure that mean will FT Group ceases to exist as a separate business.