The British insurance industry faces a hit of up to 100 million pounds ($165.4 million) from last week's floods in northern England, the Association of British Insurers said on Monday. The total insured loss will be in the range of 50 to 100 million pounds, based on the current tally of about 1,000 claims, an

Santa Claus should avoid kissing children and shaking their hands to prevent spreading the flu and should get vaccinated against the illness, Hungary's state health authority said. In a recommendation issued over the weekend and posted on its official website www.antsz.hu, the authority did not ban traditional Santa Claus activities but warned of increased risks

Closer cooperation among smaller states on economic issues is more than welcomed, House President Marios Garoyian said, addressing Monday the 4th Conference of the Presidents of the European Small States’ Parliaments, which takes place in Nicosia. Garoyian noted that apart from measures taken on local and national level, “closer cooperation regarding economy among states which

Eco-friendly managers and staff are the key to making a retailer go green, according to a study listing 15 of the world's top eco-friendly retailers in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Researchers in Canada, Scotland, Japan, Spain and France interviewed 200 retailers to look at best environmental practices and help the industry in adoptingsustainable

Companies should adopt a more cautious approach to business even if it means accepting lower profits, Britain's biggest business group said as it published a poll showing the credit crunch had made firms more risk averse. In a paper published on Monday setting out how it thinks business will evolve over the next 10 years,

Gold rose more than 1 percent to a record high on Monday as concerns about accelerating inflation and weak economic growth prompted investors to seek relatively safer assets, while supply concerns boosted oil and copper. Asian stocks also rose, led by gains in Australia thanks to higher resource stocks, although volumes were light with Japan

Wall Street opened lower on Friday after worse-than-expected quarterly results from computer maker Dell and homebuilder D.R. Horton underscored that the road to recovery would not be smooth. The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was down 29.62 points, or 0.29 percent, at 10,302.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 4.49 points, or