A row over boardroom pay at easyJet will come to a head later on Thursday as its founder and largest shareholder urges investors to vote down a motion to award its top executives a multi-million pound pay package. Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who controls around 38% of Europe's second largest low-cost carrier, has urged his fellow investors

State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland posted a fourth quarter loss of nearly 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion), hurt by writedowns on assets and restructuring costs, although it still paid out almost 1 billion pounds in bonuses to staff in 2011. RBS, 82%-owned by the British government after a state bailout during the 2008 credit crisis,

British American Tobacco , the world's second-biggest cigarette maker, increased its share buyback to 1.25 billion pounds ($1.96 billion) after it raised prices and saw strong growth in emerging markets to help boost its annual earnings. The London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes completed a share buyback of 750 million

Kuwait's Burgan Bank has reached a deal to buy a 70% stake in Turkey's Eurobank Tekfen, a partnership of Greece's EFG Eurobank and Turkey's Tekfen Holding, sources with knowledge of the deal said. The stake sale comes as Greek banks, hit by the country's sovereign debt crisis, look to boost their capital base to cope

Trade unionists, communists and pensioners angry at punishing spending cuts in Greece marched through central Athens on Wednesday as lawmakers set to work on legislation needed to secure payment of a second bailout for the debt-laden country. Ringed by riot police, parliament debated a string of measures demanded by euro zone states in exchange for

Asian shares and the euro fell on Thursday on concerns about global growth driven by higher oil prices and data showing the euro zone may slip into recession, fanning fresh worries about Greece's debt restructuring challenges. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.6%, having consolidated from recent rallies after the much-awaited

U.S. Treasury Department officials expressed cautious optimism on Wednesday that Europe was gaining ground on its sovereign debt crisis but cautioned that it still must put up a convincing financial firewall against the risk of contagion. Speaking ahead of a Group of 20 meeting in Mexico, Treasury's under secretary for international affairs, Lael Brainard, said

The euro and European shares firmed on Wednesday as investors waited to see whether fresh economic data will confirm a fragile economic recovery in the euro zone is underway but concerns about the latest Greek bailout deal weighed. The euro area and German Purchasing Manager's Indexes (PMIs), due out at 0858 GMT, are expected to

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made an agreed 992.4 million pounds ($1.6 billion) bid for Mozambique-focused Cove Energy, offering a full price to open up a new gas frontier for the Anglo-Dutch oil major in East Africa. Shell has offered 195 pence per share in cash, which Cove's directors said on Wednesday they would recommend