By Conor Humphries. DUBLIN | Tue May 21, 2013 11:40am BST. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments after the U.S.

House prices rose 0.4pc in March, according to official Government figures. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) said that house prices had risen 2.7pc in the twelve months to March 2013, rising from �229,000 to �235,000 on average.

... Off. � UK inflation falls further than expected to 2.4pc � G4S chief executive Nick Buckles steps down � Marks & Spencer profits fall after clothing struggles � Burberry pre-tax profits up 14pc to �427.8m � Vodafone pre-tax profit fell 65.9pc � Political attacks on ...

Marks & Spencer today mounted a vigorous defence of its strategy after its profits tumbled for the second consecutive year. The retail bellwether's bottom line has been hit by tumbling clothing sales, although it cheered investors by vowing to slash its capital ...

Vodafone is to plough a �2.1bn dividend from US telecoms group Verizon back into its business rather than offer shareholders a windfall, after the UK-based mobile operator reported its biggest annual fall in service revenues in five years.

Royal Mail has reported a 60% increase in pre-tax annual profits to �324m, as the government prepares to sell off the 497-year-old postal service in the most ambitious privatisation since British Gas in 1986.

Burberry today struck an upbeat note on its prospects in China, as an emerging army of luxury shoppers in the Asian country helped to drive a sharp uplift in annual profits.

Scotland can "more than afford' to be a successful independent country, its first minister has said. Alex Salmond was speaking as he launched a paper outlining the nation's key economic strengths.

The bank announced in February that 13,500 mortgage customers on tracker mortgages would see their rates increase from May 1, around half of whom have a buy-to-let mortgage.

Shares in cruise ship giant Carnival were listing badly today as a desperate move to slash prices following a succession of PR catastrophes triggered a grim profit warning.