Yahoo Inc. has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr, a six-year-old company with more than 100 million users but very little revenue, a deal that highlights the shifting balance of power in the technology business.

Marks & Spencer has become the latest in a string of UK companies to face criticism from tax campaigners over the way it structures its online sales to Europe - with one describing its sales operation as similar to that of the internet retail giant Amazon.

The outgoing governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King has warned that a government scheme to help the housing market should not become permanent.

David Cameron has written to the leaders of Britain's offshore tax havens stressing the need to "get our own houses in order" as he pushes for international action to tackle avoidance schemes.

The study said a separate Scotland could have �significant difficulties� replicating the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects bank deposits of up to �85,000.