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 and Spencer was dragged into the intensifying corporate tax avoidance row on Sunday night with allegations that its online sales operation was operated in a similar way to that of Amazon to minimise payments to the UK Treasury.

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote to the Cayman Islands and nine other U.K. territories to request action to tackle company tax evasion as Britain prepares to host the Group of Eight summit next month.

A UK Treasury analysis paper will say an independent Scotland could have "significant difficulties" providing protection for savers.

Helped by the warmer weather, footfall on the high-street rose 3.4pc year-on-year in April, the biggest increase since the run-up to Chrismtas in 2011.