LONDON - London shares closed higher on Tuesday as investors hoped the two-day Federal Reserve Board meeting will not spark too sharp a reduction in the Fed's stimulus programme to shore up the United States economy, dealers said.

John Swinney announced an independent Scotland would have the same flat-rate pension of �144 per week planned by the UK but would increase it annually by the highest of earnings growth, inflation or 2.5 per cent.

Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese developer, is investing 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in a British luxury yachtmaker and a London site where it plans to build Western Europe's tallest residential building.

Two firms in BBC documentary series The Call Centre were fined a total of �225,000 today for making nuisance sales calls. The Information Commissioner's Office said there had been 2,700 complaints about Nationwide Energy Services and We Claim You ...

Let's hope Charlotte Hogg enjoys her 15 seconds of fame. Her appointment as the first chief operating officer in the Bank of England's history is certainly newsworthy.