As David Cameron begins an EU offensive on tax avoidance, a charity accuses the Government of hypocrisy in its approach. 7:16am UK, Wednesday 22 May 2013.

Britain will be advised to sell off the state's holdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a move that will embolden George Osborne as he attempts to justify his economic strategy.

The annual rate of inflation eased to 2.4 per cent last month, thanks to falls in petrol prices and air fares, the Office for National Statistics reported yesterday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will travel to a summit of EU leaders in Brussels today amid the continuing fallout over the US Senate committee's investigation of the computer giant Apple.

Most Asian stocks rose as Japanese shares advanced after the Bank of Japan maintained its easing plan. European equity futures were little changed before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's testimony on the economy.

Fiat Industrial aims to move its tax residency to the UK from Italy after a merger with US business CNH to take advantage of a lighter fiscal regime, according to a regulatory filing.

The taxman had expected to save �8bn by 2015 from reducing errors and fraud in the administration of tax credits, but is expected to miss its target by �5bn.

One in five people retiring in Britain in 2013 will fall below the income poverty line according to a study by Prudential, which also found that nearly a quarter of women will enter retirement entirely dependent on the basic state pension.

The Institute of Directors claimed the fledgling industry could create 74,000 jobs, more than double its previous estimate of the industry's potential.

Homeserve's shares jumped more than 10 per cent as the company revealed a smaller than anticipated �6m provision for legal costs and fines it is expected to incur for mis-selling home repairs insurance.