Rushing through plans to slash subsidies for solar electricity will prevent poor families saving money on bills and cost councils millions of pounds, it has been warned.

By Huw JonesLONDON (Reuters) - Regulators have few powers to stop banks from calling in loans to comply with tougher capital standards, Britain's financial watchdog said on Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Global miner Anglo American's <AAL.L> shares rose as much as 4 percent Thursday after it sold a stake in its southern Chilean copper business for $5.4 billion (3.3 billion pound), a surprise move that signalled an aggressive stance in negotiations with state-owned Codelco.Analysts and investors broadly welcomed the preemptive strike from Anglo -- one of the more conservative players in the sector -- and the high valuation secured, though some fretted that in the long-term Anglo may have damaged ties with the world's largest copper producer and the Chilean government.

LONDON (Reuters) - The chairman of PLUS Markets, the junior London stock exchange that is home to football club Arsenal, has decided to leave the group following pressure from one of the exchange's major shareholders for a boardroom shake-up after mounting losses at the company.Middle East investment group Amara Dhari, which holds some 17 percent of PLUS Markets, had called for the resignation of Giles Vardey, and PLUS Markets said on Thursday that Vardey had now decided to quit.

By Maria Sheahan and Rene WagnerFRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - German state-controlled development bank KfW will buy a 7.5 percent stake in Airbus parent EADS <EAD.PA> from Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE>, maintaining a Franco-German balance of influence over the aerospace company.

By Nathan LayneTOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo's stock exchange has warned scandal-hit Olympus Corp it will be delisted after 62 years as a publicly traded company if it fails to report earnings by December 14, deepening concerns about the camera-maker's future.

By Jon HopkinsLONDON (Reuters) - The top shares climbed into positive territory on Thursday on a relief rally prompted by the naming of former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos as head of Greece's new crisis coalition and moves in Italy towards a national unity government.

LONDON (Reuters) - The government is not about to introduce large scale tax cuts or big increases in public spending to boost growth, despite concerns the economy is heading for another recession, business minister Vince Cable said on Thursday.Chancellor George Osborne would not veer from his austerity measures when he presents his budget update to parliament on November 29, Cable told BBC radio.

By Tim Hepher and Cyril AltmeyerPARIS (Reuters) - Airbus parent EADS <EAD.PA> pushed back its A350 carbon-fibre jetliner by six months with a 200 million euro (170 million pound) charge as it seeks to avoid errors like those that nearly derailed Europe's A380 superjumbo.

The head of the International Monetary Fund has said European governments need to show "political clarity" about the handling of their debt crisis to reassure lenders and investors.

Cash-strapped councils are being fleeced of millions of pounds by criminals using information put on the internet under transparency drives, a spending watchdog said.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler <DAIGn.DE> and the German government agreed that state-controlled development bank KfW will buy a 7.5 percent stake in EADS <EAD.PA> from the German carmaker, Daimler said on Thursday.A letter of intent is to be signed by KfW and Daimler before the end of the year, and the sale will take place in 2012, the carmaker said in a statement.

By Julie Crust and Sonali PaulLONDON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Kalahari Minerals <KAH.L>, the top shareholder in one of the world's largest uranium projects, said talks with its state-owned Chinese suitor were centred on a price of 243.55 pence per share, below what investors had expected.

By Christopher JohnsonLONDON (Reuters) - World oil demand will be lower than expected this year and next as economic slowdown and high prices curb consumption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.

A loophole that exempts DVDs and other cheap goods dispatched from the Channel Islands from VAT is being closed, ministers have announced.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England left its target for asset purchases steady on Thursday despite an escalation in the euro zone debt crisis, which many analysts believe may soon force the Bank to inject more stimulus.The central bank restarted its quantitative easing programme last month with a plan to buy a further 75 billion pounds of government bonds over the next four months, on top of the 200 billion pounds of purchases it made from 2009 to 2010.

The Bank of England has voted to freeze interest rates once more, meaning rates have remained at the record low 0.5% for well over two and a half years.

The Bank of England has voted to freeze interest rates once more, meaning rates have remained at the record low 0.5% for well over two and a half years.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Scandal hit Olympus Corp is to stay in the Nikkei average for the time being, the Nikkei publisher said on Thursday.The publisher will make a final decision after it looks into the situation regarding the company's earnings reports.

German industrial equipment maker Siemens has posted a fourth-quarter net profit of £1.04 billion, boosted by an increase in sales in Asia.

Trouble on two fronts in Europe's debt crisis has dragged the Dow Jones industrial average down 389 points.

Credit unions have welcomed the relaxation of regulations which they said will transform the way they compete with banks and other lenders.

By Jon HopkinsLONDON (Reuters) - The top share index fell on Thursday, led by weaker banks and miners as worries over Italy's debt situation and the future for the euro zone saw investors shun riskier assets.

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus parent EADS <EAD.PA> pushed back its new A350 jetliner by six months with a charge of 200 million euros (170.6 million pounds) as it pledged to give "maximum attention" to delivering Europe's answer to the carbon-composite Boeing <BA.N> 787 Dreamliner.Speculation about such a charge had driven down EADS shares on the eve of third-quarter earnings, which were nonetheless stronger than expected, prompting Europe's largest aerospace group to raise its outlook for the year.

By Barry Moody and Andreas RinkeROME/BERLIN (Reuters) - Political and economic crisis in Italy spurred fears of a split in the euro zone with borrowing costs for Europe's third biggest economy at unsustainable levels and the bloc unable to afford a bailout.

LONDON (Reuters) - Mortgage repossessions rose slightly in the three months to September compared with the previous quarter, but total repossessions this year are likely to be lower than expected, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said on Thursday.The CML said that 9,200 repossessions took place in the third quarter of 2011, up from 9,100 in the second quarter.

By Jan StrupczewskiBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone economic growth will slow sharply next year as weak confidence undermines investment and consumption and tighter fiscal policies reduce domestic demand, the European Commission said on Thursday.

By Jon HopkinsLONDON (Reuters) - The top share index fell on Thursday, led by weaker banks and miners as worries over Italy's debt situation and the future for the euro zone saw investors shun riskier assets.

By Georgina ProdhanLONDON (Reuters) - Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror <TNI.L> expects to perform slightly better than the market anticipated this year thanks to higher Sunday circulations following the closure of the News of the World.

By Mark PotterLONDON (Reuters) - A focus on low prices, promotions and fresh foods helped Wm Morrison Supermarkets to defy the gloom surrounding retailers and post third-quarter sales growth ahead of its main rivals.

LONDON (Reuters) - The government is not about to introduce large scale tax cuts or big increases in public spending to boost growth, despite concerns the economy is heading for another recession, business minister Vince Cable said on Thursday.Chancellor George Osborne would not veer from his austerity measures when he presents his budget update to parliament on November 29, Cable told BBC radio.

LONDON (Reuters) - The government is not about to introduce large scale tax cuts or big increases in public spending to boost growth, despite concerns the economy is heading for another recession, business minister Vince Cable said on Thursday.Chancellor George Osborne would not veer from his austerity measures when he presents his budget update to parliament on November 29, Cable told BBC radio.

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Thursday, tracking Wall Street lower and extending a sell-off from the previous session on concern about Italy's borrowing costs, with an auction later in the session the latest test of investor sentiment.At 8:19 a.m., the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 954.99 points, after falling 1.8 percent in the previous session when bond yields in Italy surged as margin calls on Italian paper were raised.

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Thursday, tracking Wall Street lower and extending a sell-off from the previous session on concern about Italy's borrowing costs, with an auction later in the session the latest test of investor sentiment.At 8:19 a.m., the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent at 954.99 points, after falling 1.8 percent in the previous session when bond yields in Italy surged as margin calls on Italian paper were raised.

By Clara Ferreira-Marques, Alexandra Ulmer and Pablo GaribianLONDON/SANTIAGO/HONOLULU (Reuters) - Global miner Anglo American <AAL.L> said on Wednesday it sold a 24.5 percent stake in its southern Chilean properties to Japan's Mitsubishi Corp for $5.39 billion (3.38 billion pounds), defying plans by Chile state copper giant Codelco to exercise an option to buy a major stake.

By Nathan LayneTOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo's stock exchange warned scandal-hit Olympus Corp on Thursday it will be delisted after 62 years as a publicly traded company if it fails to report earnings by December 14, another blow to the Japanese camera-maker's chances of survival.

By Aileen Wang and Kevin YaoBEIJING (Reuters) - China's imports surged in October as exports grew at their slowest rate in months, suggesting efforts to tilt the economy towards domestic demand may be offsetting the external weakness that has dragged on economic growth this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - Balfour Beatty <BALF.L>, Britain's largest contractor, said cost-cutting remained a priority in its construction unit during the third quarter with a slight lift in U.S. orders offsetting a weak UK market.Balfour, which recently handed over the Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympics, said its order book had remained flat since August at 15.5 billion pounds and it is trading in line with its expectations.

By Barry Moody and Andreas RinkeROME/BERLIN (Reuters) - Political and economic crisis in Italy spurred fears of a split in the euro zone with borrowing costs for Europe's third biggest economy near unsustainable levels and the bloc unable to afford a bailout.

LONDON/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Financier Nathaniel Rothschild has criticised the management and corporate governance at PT Bumi Resources, the Indonesian coal company he is trying to transform into a top-tier global miner, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.The newspaper said it has seen a letter written by Rothschild calling for a "radical cleaning up" of PT Bumi Resources <BUMI.JK>, the Jakarta-based affiliate of London-listed Bumi Plc <BUMIP.L>.

By Nathan LayneTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's scandal-hit Olympus Corp is likely to miss a Monday deadline for reporting first-half earnings, sources said, a failure that would bring the 92-year-old company a step closer to being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

By Alex RichardsonSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell around 3 percent on Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears that the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defences, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

By Alex RichardsonSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell around 3 percent on Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears that the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defences, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

By Alex RichardsonSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell around 3 percent on Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears that the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defences, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

By Jeanine PreziosoNEW YORK (Reuters) - Former MF Global customers like Koch Industries, who pulled billions of dollars out of the stricken broker's accounts weeks or months before its collapse, have counted their blessings in recent days.

By Nathan LayneTOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's scandal-hit Olympus Corp is likely to miss a Monday deadline for reporting its first-half earnings, sources with knowledge of the matter said, a failure that would bring the 92-year-old firm a step closer to delisting.

By Alex RichardsonSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell sharply on Thursday after soaring Italian borrowing costs stoked fears the debt crisis in the euro zone's third biggest economy will overwhelm its financial defences, raising the risk of a break-up of the currency area.

Lloyds Banking Group has been warned its debt rating could be cut due to the sick leave of chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio.

Setbacks in Europe's efforts to isolate a debt crisis before it blows up into an all-out recession have sent Asian stock markets tumbling.

Struggling electricals chain Comet has been sold for a token £2 after its owner Kesa Electricals called time on the loss-making business.

The president of the European Commission has issued a new call for the EU to "unite or face irrelevance" in the face of the mounting economic crisis in Italy.

The Government will be making "its views known" to executives at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) following the decision to award their investment bankers bonuses totalling a reported £500 million, the Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Price comparison website Moneysupermarket has said soaring gas and electricity prices prompted a surge in people switching suppliers.

Power giant SSE has revealed profits dropped by 25% after it supplied household energy at a loss due to soaring wholesale gas costs.

Families will spend almost £700 this Christmas, including gifts, decorations and food and drink, marginally more than last year despite the continuing tough economic climate, a new report has predicted.

Union leaders have warned of the first strike at car giant Ford since the 1970s, in a row over pensions.

The gap between goods imported and exported in the UK hit a record high in September, official figures have revealed, as deepening troubles in the eurozone took their toll.

HSBC has underlined the impact of the eurozone debt crisis after revealing a 23% slide in earnings from investment banking.

British consumers are being ripped off by scams and frauds to the tune of almost £7 billion a year, but official arrangements to protect them are "incoherent and fragmented", a parliamentary report has warned.

Desperate tenants are resorting to the job-hunting tactic of handing in their CVs amid fierce competition in the rental market.

Price comparison website Moneysupermarket has said soaring gas and electricity prices prompted a surge in people switching suppliers.

Union leaders have warned of the first strike at car giant Ford since the 1970s, in a row over pensions.

More than 200 GPs earned over £250,000 a year from NHS and private work in 2009/10 - down on the previous year.

The number of permanent jobs available across the UK has fallen for the first time in two years, according to a "gloomy" survey of recruitment firms.

Thousands of construction workers have staged a demonstration in an escalating row over pay and skills in the industry which is set to lead to a strike ballot.

The eurozone debt crisis has moved into dangerous new waters as Italy's borrowing costs hit "unsustainable" levels.

Motorola has been rapped by the advertising watchdog for misleading claims that a mobile phone was "pool party proof", "dance floor proof" and "life proof".

Private sector pension funds are facing a deficit of some £150 billion more than a year ago, although the situation has improved over the last month, figures from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have shown.

A cross-Government effort is required to drive down the costs of motor insurance, the chairwoman of the Transport Select Committee has urged.

Sainsbury's said its efforts to help shoppers cope with tighter budgets were paying off after it reported a 6.6% rise in half-year profits.

More than a third of people who use direct debits to manage their money are unaware exactly how much cash is leaving their account each month, research has suggested.

Airline Flybe has reported soaring profits but said it will reduce capacity by 6% over the winter amid falling demand.

FirstGroup has announced that profits from its rail division have surged but warned that demand for bus travel is being hit by the worsening economy.

Car insurer Admiral has warned that higher-than-normal levels of personal injury claims are likely to dent its profits growth.

The Government is considering plans under which people who have been unemployed for more than two years could be referred on to compulsory community work placements, it has been announced.

Asian stock markets have turned higher with investment sentiment on the rise after Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi promised to resign once his country passes a new budget.

Dexia, the Franco-Belgian lender that had to be bailed out last month, says the fire sale of its Belgian retail business and losses on Greek government bonds cost it almost £5.43 billion in the third quarter.

The CBI has slashed its growth forecasts for the economy but called on the Chancellor to stick to his deficit-busting austerity measures.

The names of those who will form the new Greek interim government will be announced on Wednesday afternoon, a Greek government official said.

Stocks turned higher after investors got the news they had been hoping for - Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi promised to resign once a new budget was passed.

Yellow Pages owner Yell has suffered another profits slump but insists its plans to reinvent itself online are making "significant progress".

The UK's biggest insurer Prudential has reassured customers and investors that it can withstand significant shocks from the markets despite its protective cash cushion shrinking over the year.

Marks & Spencer has revealed a hit to profits after it opted not to pass on the full extent of rising costs to cash-strapped shoppers.

Only a quarter of people aged over 55 have used online banking to manage their money, research from a payment education campaign has found.

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group has revealed a dip in third- quarter profits and warned it is in danger of missing its medium-term targets.

The Government's "attack" on pensions is nothing more than an attempt to make school staff "pay for the mistakes of others", a headteachers' union has warned.

Vodafone has upped it guidance on full-year profits as emerging markets and the UK helped it overcome tougher conditions in southern Europe.

The owner of value clothes retailer Primark has said it would continue to open new stores despite reporting a slide in full-year profits.

A private bank that counts the Queen among its clients has been fined £6.3 million by the City watchdog for misleading customers over a savings product linked to bailed-out US insurer AIG.

Eurozone leaders most show the world they are prepared to stand behind their currency, Chancellor George Osborne has said.

The housing market saw an increase in activity last month but the threat posed to the UK by the eurozone debt crisis and tough lending conditions will halt a significant recovery, a survey has warned.

The Tooth Fairy puts her hand deeper into her pocket depending on where she happens to be, according to a new poll which revealed that some children receive £5.05 more than their peers.

Workers in the UK will receive another below-inflation pay rise next year, with firms budgeting for a 3% increase, a new report has predicted.

The Government's reform of incapacity benefits will "impoverish" a vast number of households and cause "untold distress", a new report has claimed.

Youth unemployment has increased in virtually every area of the UK in the past year and could soon hit a million, according to a new report.

Asian stock markets struggled but European shares have advanced as fears that Italy could become the next domino to fall in Europe's debt crisis were muted by Greece edging back from the brink.

More than two dozen universities have submitted plans to lower their tuition fees to below £7,500 for next year, it has been revealed.

Retailers have called for the tax burden on businesses and consumers to be eased amid fears the high street is facing a bleak Christmas.