By Olesya Dmitracova and Christina Fincher. LONDON | Wed May 22, 2013 10:38am BST. LONDON (Reuters) - British retail sales dropped at their sharpest pace in a year last month, a reminder of weakness in the country's economy after some recent signs ...

SSE has warned that consumers should brace themselves for further increases in energy bills, as the London-listed energy group reported a jump in full-year pre-tax profit and bolstered its dividend.

Lloyds Banking Group, the UK's largest retail bank, said it would not need to issue new shares or sell other securities to meet fresh regulatory capital requirements.

The rand gained, snapping its longest losing streak in a year, after inflation outpaced economist estimates in April, damping expectations of a central-bank interest rate cut this year.

Tax authorities from the UK, US and Australia are to join together to investigate tax evasion from some of the wealthiest people in the world after receiving huge amounts of data from a whistle-blower.

Britain's biggest building society posted a 3.4pc rise in pre-tax profits to �210m, from �203m last year. Stripping out �68m set aside for PPI mis-selling compensation and other one-off charges, profits soared 56pc to �475m, largely driven by a surge in ...

Sony's board of directors is discussing a proposal by the company's largest investor to sell off part of its film and music arm, Kazuo Hirai, chief executive, said on Wednesday.

More than 50 English beaches have met tough new EU standards to receive Blue Flag awards, recognising their high standards and water quality.

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.