retail sales

The government says it will increase the levy on bank profits to £2.5bn this year, to raise an extra £800m for the public purse.

Fears of a double-dip recession appear to have receded after the high street enjoyed surprisingly robust trading last month, boosted by continued hefty discounting and catch-up shopping after December's snow.

Ocado has revealed its shares have risen to an all-time high following a grim performance after the firm floated last July.

China's inflation rate hit a two-year high in October at 4.4%, driven by an increase in food prices.

UK retail sales fell by 0.5% in August, surprising economists who had expected a 0.3% rise.

The Global Bond sector reached its highest ever monthly sales figure in July, according to the Investment Management Association.

Cazenove has promoted Rob Thorpe to the newly-created head of UK retail position.

Britain's high street saw a marked improvement in sales volumes in May, according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG's Retail Sales Monitor.

UK retail sales rose by a worse than expected 0.4% from February to March, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

The FTSE 100 has opened 0.06% or 3.24 points lower to 5,774 in early trading as rises in retail stocks were offset by falling mining shares.