British Energy warning on power station repair bill

Nuclear generator British Energy today warned the return to service of its Hartlepool and Heysham 1 reactors will cost much more than originally thought.

Benchmark inflation jumps higher than feared to 4.4%

Benchmark UK inflation rocketed much higher than feared in July, to 4.4% from 3.8% in June, while the old retail prices index measure hit a 17-year high of 5%.

Challenger Inns bought by former investor in £5m deal

The man who claims to have brought the "English country pub" to Scotland has gained control of Challenger Inns' portfolio in a £5m deal that has delivered a 15% annual return to wealthy fellow-shareholders led by Brian Souter and Ann Gloag.

	Ortak beats retail gloom with new store openings
	Orkney-based jeweller Ortak is shrugging off the retail gloom with two new store openings, after reporting a near 10% rise in sales since the beginning of the year.

Weir chief defends share award

Mark Selway, chief executive of Weir Group, defended controversial plans to award him £3.5m in shares if he stays for three years saying shareholders had benefited from huge growth at the engineering firm during his time in charge.

Standard Life attempts to point out the positives

Standard Life’s 25-year mortgage endowment has returned 3.2% in the past year, and a policy maturing this month is now worth £34,701, well below the industry average and one-third of the pay-out in 2000.

Maxima shares climb as full-year earnings rise 24%

Shares in Maxima Holdings climbed by 9% at one stage yesterday after the software company posted a 24% rise in full-year pre-tax profit and said current trading is robust and ahead of last year, despite the slowing economy.

Benedetti confident of profit in 2008 despite last year’s loss

Giovanni Benedetti said his slimmed-down Benedetti International business should make a profit in 2008, although accounts show the remaining operations in the group made a loss last year.

Oil falls below $114-a-barrel mark

Crude oil futures dipped below $114 a barrel in choppy trading yesterday after an energy watchdog predicted that producers would pump enough black gold to keep supplies at a comfortable level next year.

July’s drop in material prices offers modest inflation relief

A rare ray of hope on the UK inflation horizon emerged yesterday, when official data revealed producers' material and fuel costs fell unexpectedly in July for the first time since last August.

Barratt shares soar as Polaris increases its stake in builder

Barratt Developments saw its share price surge by as much as 34.6% yesterday after Polaris Capital Management raised its stake in the ailing housebuilder.

	Retail sales suffer another poor month
	The value of UK retail sales in July was up only 1.7% on the same month last year, the third-poorest annual growth rate in the industry's own monthly figures since spring 2006, the British Retail Consortium will reveal today.

One explosive mixture is forgotten at our peril

Alf Young on Tuesday: During crude oil’s brisk ascent to its July price peak of $147.27 a barrel, any war in the Caucasus or an earlier dissident strike against a key oil and gas pipeline route to the West would almost certainly have pushed that record even higher.

Widening trade in goods deficit adds more misery to UK

The UK's trade in goods deficit widened slightly during June as demand for British goods in overseas markets weakened, official figures showed yesterday, providing more gloomy news for Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.

Major finance boost for recycling start-up

A veteran of the Scottish chemicals industry has won backing from financiers for an attempt to cash-in on retailers' desire to boost their green credentials by using recycled food packaging.

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