Furious consumer groups demanded an immediate cut in energy bills today after one of Britain's biggest suppliers revealed a 28 per cent profit surge boosted by the past year's cold weather.

LONDON - British retail sales slid unexpectedly last month amid cold spring weather, official data showed on Wednesday. Retail sales sank by 1.3 percent in April from March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced in a statement.

The government needs a "clear strategy" to privatise Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesdsay, as the two bailed out banks attempted to reassure the City that they would not need to tap investors ...

Lost tax revenue from money salted away offshore is costing governments more than $150bn (�99bn) a year, Oxfam has found - enough to eliminate extreme poverty across the globe twice over.

Nationwide, Britain's largest building society, today said it had increased lending on mortgages by 17pc to �21.5bn as it announced its full-year results.