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

A day after the International Monetary Fund urged the government to do more to spur growth, Britain's official statisticians have reminded economists of just how far the UK economy remains from full health.

Financial woes have prompted Flybe to cut almost all of its flights from London in a significant blow for the capital's air links to Scotland, the Channel Islands and the West Country.

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, entered the political debate surrounding Britain's EU membership on Thursday, telling a City of London audience that Europe needed �a more European UK�.

The yen strengthened sharply on Thursday, after weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data prompted investors to sell Japanese stocks and buy yen.