Britain's top share index was flat at midday on Wednesday as gains by miners, life insurers and banks in the last session of a strong quarter was countered by weakness in oil majors and retailer Marks & Spencer. By 1109 GMT the FTSE 100 was 0.7 point higher at 5,160.43 and on course for its

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday after robust factory data from Asia and better-than-expected results from Nike encouraged investors as the quarter comes to a close. Employment and gross domestic product (GDP) data will likely also set the tone before the market opens. Strong manufacturing activity data out of China

British retailer Marks & Spencer raised full-year profit hopes when posting an improved quarterly sales trend, but said costs were rising and it would be 2011 before the economy fully recovered. Executive chairman Stuart Rose said there was more visibility in the marketplace and British consumers had regained some confidence but he cautioned: "It's fragile

European shares look set to finish the third quarter with their best performance in nearly a decade on expectations of economic recovery while world stocks also rose strongly though not as much as in the previous period. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index put on 0.4 percent on Wednesday and the MSCI world index added the

Banks are starting to make money and should conserve the capital, including by not paying dividends, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Wednesday. "There is a temptation when you go back into profits to have the equity buybacks and the dividend payouts," Jose Vinals, director of the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday looking past a surprise fall in U.S. consumer confidence and the Australian dollar jumped to a 13-month high after August retail sales data beat forecasts. China's main stock market opened higher boosted by the acquisition plans of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's biggest bank by

A tsunami hit Samoa on the morning of September 30, 2009, setting off warnings across the Pacific. Estimates of dead ranged from 28 to up to 100 victims. The tsunami was caused by a 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near the Samoan islands and American Samoa. Warnings for Fiji and Tonga were revoked after the

British consumer morale enjoyed its biggest monthly boost in more than 14 years in September as people grew more optimistic about the economic outlook than at any time in the past decade, a survey showed on Wednesday. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index, which is conducted on behalf of the European Commission, leapt to -16 this

The International Monetary Fund will raise its 2010 growth forecast for the world economy to 3.1 percent from 2.5 percent to reflect improving economic conditions, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Citing unidentified sources at the IMF and the German government, German business daily Handelsblatt said the IMF had revised its global forecast for this year