Chancellor George Osborne has announced plans to stop multinationals hiding their profits from the taxman in shadowy offshore "shell" companies.

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.

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.

So-called core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was 0.2 per cent last month and 1.7 per cent for the last 12 months.

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.