Oil seesawed on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses, as unrest flared in the Middle East and North Africa, a vital part of global energy supply. Expectations that weekly data due out later in the day will show an increase in crude inventories in the United States, the world's second largest energy consumer, capped oil price gains.
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Britain's top share index was flat after the UK budget held few surprises on Wednesday, with strength from miners offsetting falls from supermarkets as Sainsbury missed sales forecasts. By 1332 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.46 points at 5,764.17, retreating slightly from an intraday high of 5,802.44 reached before British finance minister George Osborne
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Western airstrikes hit Libyan government forces' positions in the rebel-held city of Misrata on Wednesday, silencing an artillery bombardment but not snipers who were firing from rooftops near the hospital, residents said. Rebels in Misrata who have been fighting for weeks to hold off attacks on Libya's third largest city welcomed the air strikes, saying
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Britain cut its economic growth forecast on Wednesday and said inflation would remain above target this year and next in a budget that stuck to ambitious deficit-busting goals. Seeking to support a faltering economy, finance minister George Osborne said corporation tax would be cut by two percentage points to 26% from April, rather than by
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The United States has named 14 companies owned by Libya's state oil firm as subject to sanctions including prominent east Libyan operator Agoco, aiming to cut off a key source of funds for Muammar Gaddafi's regime. The list of 14 firms owned by Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) was identified by the U.S. Department of
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Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most alluring actresses of the 20th century, died on Wednesday at age 79, her publicist said. She died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles surrounded by her four children after having been hospitalised six weeks ago with congestive heart failure, a statement from publicist Sally Morrison said. "My
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Britain's budget on Wednesday is likely to show the government's ambitious deficit-busting goals are still within reach, but an uncertain recovery and stubborn inflation could yet disrupt its austerity plans. Finance minister George Osborne is expected to admit growth will be weaker than he had forecast when he launched a plan last June to slash
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Japanese authorities advised against allowing infants to drink tap water in Tokyo due to raised radiation levels and the United States became the first nation to block some food imports from Japan . The crisis at the tsunami-smashed nuclear power plant, 250 km north of the Japanese capital, appeared far from over with workers attempting
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Saudi Arabia plans to begin municipal elections this month, the first political concession from the conservative U.S. ally since protests sweeping the region reached the kingdom, a government website said on Wednesday. The announcement on the website of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs did not say if women would be able to take
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J Sainsbury, Britain's third-biggest supermarket group, missed fourth-quarter sales forecasts, adding to signs of a slowdown in consumer spending growth as inflation climbs and government spending cuts bite. Sainsbury, which trails industry leader Tesco and Wal-Mart's Asda in annual sales, said on Wednesday sales at stores open over a year rose 1 percent, excluding fuel
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