Britain's FTSE 100 share index rose in early trade on Wednesday a day after registering the first decline in the last 12 sessions, with a rebound in financials offsetting weakness in gas firm BG and mining stocks. By 0815 GMT the FTSE 100 was up 0.9 percent, or 39.01 points at 4,567.85 points in a

A late sell-off on Shanghai's stock market depressed emerging market stocks on Wednesday and took Asian shares off multi-month peaks, although the mood failed to carry over into Europe. European shares were higher in early trade, lifted by positive earnings news despite losses in China that have sometimes heralded a global stock market retreat. Chinese

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc have agreed to an online search and advertising partnership, in an attempt to rival Google Inc, that will be announced within 24 hours, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Microsoft will not pay an upfront fee to Yahoo, and the focus of the deal is on sharing

British mortgage approvals for house purchase rose to their highest level in more than a year in June but total consumer lending rose by the smallest amount on record, official data showed on Wednesday. The Bank of England said mortgage approvals numbered 47,584 in June, up from 44,169 in May and just above analysts' forecasts

Asian shares hovered near their 10-month peaks on Wednesday as investors wait for more company earnings, but China's CSCEC made a blockbuster listing in Shanghai. Stock indices in Australia, Japan and South Korea fluctuated in and out of the red and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan slipped 0.4 percent, flagging after this week's run-up

Bernard Madoff, the financier convicted for Wall Street's biggest investment fraud, was surprised his $65 billion Ponzi scheme was not uncovered sooner, he said in his first interview since entering prison. Madoff, the disgraced 71-year-old Wall Streeter who drew 150 years' prison time for the fraud, expressed remorse and talked candidly to a pair of

European shares fell on Tuesday after hitting their highest close for 8-1/2 months in the previous session, as Deutsche Bank led banks lower and BP's results put pressure on energy stocks. Weak U.S. consumer confidence also weighed on the market and overshadowed news that U.S. single-family home prices rose in May from April, the first

Britain's top share index ended its two-week winning streak on Tuesday, closing 1.3 percent lower after profit-taking in mining and energy stocks erased earlier gains on the index, which had risen for the past 11 sessions. The FTSE 100 closed 57.29 points lower at 4,528.84 points, in a choppy session that saw it struggling to