International Business News - Britain http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Retail sales slumped in June by the biggest margin in more than 20 years, indicating that British consumers are cutting back spending amid accelerating inflation and slowing economic growth. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080724/uk-retail-sales-drop-3-9-percent-in-june.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:10:03 EDT Britain's six biggest Internet service providers have agreed to work with the government and music industry to clamp down on illegal downloading, a music industry association said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080724/british-internet-providers-sign-piracy-deal.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:02:44 EDT Motor racing boss Max Mosley won a closely watched privacy-invasion lawsuit Thursday over a British tabloid's claims he took part in a Nazi-themed orgy, and the judge ordered the newspaper to pay over $1 million. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080724/racing-boss-mosley-wins-lawsuit-against-tabloid.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:07:59 EDT The drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC said Wednesday it has submitted a new drug application to U.S. authorities and applied for marketing clearance from European authorities for its Onglyza diabetes treatment. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/astra-seeks-approval-for-diabetes-drug.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:00:12 EDT Northern Rock, the mortgage lender nationalized after suffering Britain's first bank run in more than a century, announced the appointment of a Barclays PLC director as its new chief executive officer on Wednesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/northern-rock-appoints-chief-executive.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:51:12 EDT The Bank of England voted seven to two to keep official interest rates steady this month with the dissenting members split between a cut and a rise, according to minutes of July's meeting released Wednesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/boe-voted-7-2-to-keep-rates-same.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:40:25 EDT A British court has rejected an appeal by five men, serving life sentences for plotting a bombing spree, to overturn their convictions. Omar Khyam, Waheed Mahmood, Jawad Akbar, Anthony Garcia, and Salahuddin Amin were convicted in April 2007 of plotting attacks against a construction firm, utilities or London's Ministry of Sound nightclub using fertilizer-packed explosives. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/uk-court-rejects-terror-plotters-appeal.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:39:00 EDT Vodafone Group PLC said Wednesday it has launched a program to buy back 1 billion pounds ($2 billion) worth of its own shares--a day after the stock plummeted when the mobile phone company scaled back its full-year sales forecast. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/vodafone-says-it-will-buy-back-shares.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:43:46 EDT Britain's Ministry of Defense says a Taliban leader has surrendered to Pakistani authorities and another leading insurgent has been killed by British forces. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/britain-says-taliban-leader-surrenders.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:42:10 EDT BAE Systems PLC announced a three-year program on Tuesday to implement recommendations from an internally commissioned report that found Europe's biggest defense contractor failed to pay sufficient attention to ethical standards. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/bae-to-implement-ethics-recommendations.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:35:56 EDT Vodafone Group PLC shares plummeted 20 percent on Tuesday after the mobile phone company scaled back its full-year sales forecast as tough economic conditions led consumers to refrain from buying and using new handsets. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/95492-vodafone.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/vodafone-sounds-warning-over-revenue.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/vodafone-sounds-warning-over-revenue.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:57:39 EDT The Scottish government says it has approved plans to build Europe's largest onshore wind farm. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said Monday the 152-turbine Clyde wind farm near Abington would be capable of powering up to 320,000 homes. Abington is about 40 miles southeast of Glasgow. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/scotland-approves-major-wind-farm-plans.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:55:41 EDT Two men accused of plotting to detonate liquid explosives aboard trans-Atlantic jets in 2006 have pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Arafat Waheed Khan, 27, and Waheed Zaman, 24, admitted Monday to "conspiring to commit a public nuisance." But they deny plotting to kill thousands of people by smuggling liquid explosives onto jets bound from London to North America and detonating them in-flight. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/2-admit-minor-charges-in-uk-terror-trial.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:49:45 EDT British software maker Autonomy Corp. said Monday that its second-quarter profit nearly doubled on strong revenue growth. Profit rose to $30.5 million in the three months through June 30, from $16.5 million in the same period a year earlier, the Cambridge, England-based company said in a statement. Sales gained more than 70 percent to $125.6 million. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/autonomy-profit-nearly-doubles.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:50:01 EDT Britain is probably already in a recession and a quick cut to interest rates is needed to stave off further financial pain, a Bank of England official said in an interview published Monday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/bank-adviser-uk-probably-in-recession.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:48:45 EDT HBOS PLC said Monday that only about 8 percent of its shareholders opted to buy into its 4 billion-pound ($8 billion) rights issue. The British bank said its underwriters--Morgan Stanley and Dresdner--would now have to find subscribers for the balance of its shares, worth about 3.78 billion pounds ($7.55 billion) by Tuesday afternoon or add them to their own balance sheets. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/hbos-weak-takeup-of-rights-issue.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:47:20 EDT Britain's highest appeals court is scheduled to decide this week whether a divorced woman and her son should be deported to Lebanon, where she claims her abusive husband will gain custody under Sharia law. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/uk-court-to-rule-on-islamic-law-case.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:20:06 EDT A Shiite militia that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq more than a year ago said one of its hostages committed suicide, a British newspaper reported. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080720/report-british-hostage-in-iraq-is-dead.htm Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:37:53 EDT A Shiite militia that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq more than a year ago said one of its hostages committed suicide, a British newspaper reported. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080719/report-uk-hostage-in-iraq-is-dead.htm Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:15:46 EDT John and Anne Darwin were in trouble. Of that there is no doubt. But their plan for putting things right went extraordinarily wrong. Swamped by money problems and facing ruin, John Darwin cooked up a novel scheme early in 2002. He would fake his own death, collect 226,000 pounds (US$ 452,000) on his life insurance and pension plans, escape his debts, and the family would prosper anew. Eureka! http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/wife-says-she-was-forced-to-help-man-fake-death.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:19:00 EDT