LONDON | Thu May 23, 2013 9:45am BST. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economy grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter as originally estimated, but consumer spending rose at its weakest pace since the third quarter of 2011.

Thursday 09.10 BST. Global stocks are in sharp retreat, led by a savage plunge in Tokyo, as traders are spooked by the prospect of reduced central bank support and a slowing Chinese economy.

Speaking after he delivered the annual British Retail Consortium lecture, Tim Steiner said the reaction of Waitrose to Ocado's tie-up with Morrisons has been a �joke�.

Flybe's made the announcement as it updated markets on its turnaround plan. This included pushing back the delivery of 16 new aircraft by three to four years to help it return to profitability by reducing pre-delivery payment charges this year.

Shares in car parts and bicycle retailer Halfords were hit after it posted a big drop in annual profits. Pre-tax profits for the 12 months to end-March fell almost 25% to �71m compared with a year earlier.