The FTSE 100 closed up 0.90 per cent on Thursday with gains for miners and Burberry.
The index ended the day at 5,154.64, a rise of 45.74 points.
Fashion house Burberry was among the leading shares benefiting from positive noises coming from brokers over demand for luxury goods.
The firm ended the day up 5.55 per cent – [...]

The FTSE 100 opened up over one per cent on Thursday.
At 08:48 BST the index stood at 5,159.83 – a gain of 50.93 points or 1.00 per cent.
Leading the gains was Vedanta Resources rose 5.42 per cent after production reports showed the miner recorded higher iron ore and zinc output.
Lonmin rose 3.77 per cent, Antofagasta [...]

Financial analysts have called for the Bank of England to increase its quantitative easing programme to £200 billion.
The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce its monthly decision on interest rates as well as providing an update on its quantitative easing programme later today.
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said [...]

Interest rates have been held at 0.5 per cent yet again, the Bank of England has announced.
The monetary policy committee (MPC) also held its quantitative easing programme limit at £175 billion.
Some financial analysts had called for the programme to be increased to £200 billion.
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) earlier [...]

A British soldier killed in an explosion during an ambush in southern Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Guardsman Jamie Janes, of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, was on foot patrol near to Nad Ali District Centre in central Helmand province when he was killed in the blast on Monday morning.
Three [...]

The amount of fraud being committed on plastic cards fell by 23 per cent, to £232.8 million, when compared to last year.
However Financial Fraud Action UK urged consumers to still be careful with their cards, warning that despite losses for mail, internet and phone payments falling, internet banking fraud was up 55 per cent on [...]

The FTSE 100 ended down on Wednesday, but broadly held steady after yesterday’s gains.
At close the index stood at 5,108.90 – down 29.08 points or 0.57 per cent.
Leading the gains was Aviva, after the insurer revealed it was planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange, which would broaden the number of US shareholders [...]

A motoring advert featuring the cleavage of a woman wearing a white bra with the tagline “Nice Headlamps” has been banned.
The poster for UlsterTrader.com received 44 complaints claiming it was offensive as it objectified women, degraded them and was sexist.
The advert with the line: “Nice headlamps, what do you look for in a car?” also [...]

The FTSE 100 held firm on Wednesday morning following gains of over two per cent yesterday.
The index stood at 5,141.63 at 09:13 BST – a rise of 3.65 points or 0.07 per cent.
Last night, the Dow was up 1.37 per cent, as was the S&P 500.
In London Kingfisher led the gains up 3.80 per cent [...]

The former head of the Army has claimed Gordon Brown refused his request for a major troop reinforcement in Afghanistan this year.
General Sir Richard Dannatt alleges the prime minister rejected military chiefs’ advice for an extra 2,000 troops to be sent to Helmand province.
He told the Sun newspaper British soldiers are currently fighting with "part [...]