UK inflation rate rises to 1.3% in October

UK inflation rose to an annual rate of 1.3% in October, up from 1.2% in the previous month, official figures show.

The slight increase moves the rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), above its recent five-year low.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), said the marginal rise was because transport costs fell by less than they did a year ago.

In addition, prices in the recreation and culture sectors rose, particularly for computer games and toys.

However, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell by

Lloyds dismisses eight staff over Libor

Lloyds Banking Group has dismissed eight staff members following an investigation into the manipulation of some key interest rates set in London.

The move follows the bank's £218m fine in July for "serious misconduct" over the setting of Libor.

Chair Lord Blackwell said the actions of those responsible for the misconduct were "completely unacceptable".

Lloyds, which is 24.9% owned by the government, said the individuals had also forfeited £3m in unpaid bonuses.

The bank said its remuneration committee would now ensure the outcome of the disciplinary process was "fully and fairly reflected" in other staff bonus payments.

Regulators found that Lloyds manipulated the London interbank offered rate (Libor) for yen and sterling and tried to rig the rate for yen, sterling and the US dollar.

It was also found to have

Tesco accounting error 'stratospheric'

Tesco executives could be quizzed by MPs after its "stratospheric" error over profits, the chairman of the Parliamentary Business Committee, Adrian Bailey, has told the BBC.

He told Radio 5 live's Wake Up To Money it was "unbelievable" that the retailer could get into "such a mess".

On Monday, Tesco admitted that it had overstated its guidance for half-year profits by £250m.

The UK's accountancy watchdog says it is "monitoring the situation closely".

However, the Financial Reporting Council, said it would not act until Tesco's own investigation was completed.

Too little, too late?

On Tuesday, Tesco said that its new chief financial officer, Alan Stewart, would be joining the company immediately, more than two months earlier than originally planned.

He replaced Laurie McIlwee, who resigned from Tesco in April but was not due to leave the company officially until October.

On Wednesday evening, Tesco admitted that

Monarch airline staff agree to pay cuts of up to 30%

Monarch says its staff have agreed to pay cuts of up to 30% to secure the future of the airline.

It said its employees had voted overwhelmingly in favour of the plan, following discussions with unions.

Monarch's chief executive, Andrew Swaffield, said the vote was "a step forward" in the company's re-organisation.

On Tuesday the firm said it was in talks with investors Greybull Capital to sell a majority stake.

Mr Swaffield added that there were still "further hurdles to be overcome" but that the company had secured future investments from Greybull.

"This is firm progress for Monarch, its employees and for its customers," he said.

Jim McAuslan, General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa), said pilots had made "major sacrifices to secure the future of this important British company".

"We welcome the announcement that Greybull are moving towards securing their position as majority shareholders in Monarch," he said.

Tesco being monitored by UK accountancy regulator

Tesco is being monitored by the UK's accountancy watchdog, following Monday's admission that it overstated its half-year profit guidance by £250m.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was "monitoring the situation closely," but would not act until Tesco's own investigation was completed.

The FRC can issue fines for misconduct.

It can also, via an independent panel, suspend individuals and firms from the professional accounting body.

"It will consider the outcome of the investigation announced by the company and determine whether it should take regulatory action," the FRC said in a statement.

However, the FRC said

Barclays fined £38m for putting clients' money 'at risk'

Barclays has been fined a record £38m by the City regulator for failing to keep its clients' money separate from its own.

The fine comes three years after Barclays paid out £1.1m for a similar issue.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank's investment arm had put £16.5bn of clients' money "at risk" between November 2007 and January 2012.

Barclays said it did not profit from the issue and no customers lost out.

"Clients risked incurring extra costs, lengthy delays or losing their assets if Barclays had become insolvent," the FCA said.

And FCA director of markets David Lawton said safeguarding client assets was "key" to maintaining market confidence.

"Barclays lack of focus on the rules was unacceptable," he added.

Barclays, which

Tesco fast-tracks new finance chief Alan Stewart

Troubled supermarket giant Tesco has said that its new chief financial officer, Alan Stewart, is joining the company immediately, more than two months earlier than originally planned.

Mr Stewart was previously in the same post at Marks and Spencer.

His arrival fills a gap left by Laurie McIlwee, who left just over a week ago, following his resignation in April.

On Monday, Tesco stunned the markets by saying it had overstated its half-year profit guidance by £250m.

It has launched an investigation headed by Deloitte, and says it is now working to establish the impact of the issue on its full-year results.

It has also suspended four executives, including its UK managing director, Chris Bush.

Tesco is also believed to have suspended its UK finance director Carl Rogberg, its food commercial director John Scouler and the head of food sourcing, Matt Simister.

Tesco shopping Tesco has been battling falling sales and

Tesco suspends executives as inquiry launched into profit overstatement

Tesco has suspended four executives, including its UK managing director, after the supermarket overstated its half-year profit guidance by £250m.

That would be almost a quarter of its expected profit for the period.

It has launched an investigation headed by Deloitte, and says it is now working to establish the impact of the issue on its full-year results.

"Disappointment would be an understatement," said Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis.

Mr Lewis, who only took the helm on 1 September, said it was "a serious issue", but insisted "it doesn't take away from what I'm able to build at Tesco".

Shares fell 8% in early trading.

Mr Lewis said "a number of people" had been suspended from duty "to facilitate the fullest and deepest

Scottish referendum: Shares rise on 'No' vote as pound rally fades

Shares on the London stock market have risen after Scotland voted against independence.

The FTSE 100 share index was up 0.75% at 6,870.23 just after 10am BST.

An initial rally in the pound faded. Overnight it hit a two-year high against the euro and a two-week high against the US dollar, but fell back during the morning.

Meanwhile RBS confirmed it would not be moving its registered head office now that independence had been rejected.

The announcement we made about moving our registered head office to England was part of a contingency plan to ensure certainty and stability for our customers, staff and shareholders should there be a 'Yes' vote," the bank said.

"That contingency plan is no longer required. Following the result it is

UK retail sales rise in August

UK retail sales rose by 0.4% in August compared with the previous month, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Sales volumes were up 3.9% compared with the same month a year earlier.

The ONS said there was big rise in household goods sales compared with a year earlier, led by furniture and electrical appliance stores.

It added that this had been helped by demand for high powered vacuum cleaners ahead of new EU regulation.

Under EU energy saving regulations that came into force at the end of August, companies in the EU are now banned from making or importing vacuum cleaners above 1600 watts.

The ONS also said

Kingfisher boss Cheshire to step down

Home improvements retailer Kingfisher has said its chief executive Ian Cheshire is to step down after nearly seven years in charge of the company.

He will be succeeded by the boss of French unit Castorama, Veronique Laury.

Ms Laury will become the fifth female chief executive on the FTSE 100 index.

The succession plan came as Kingfisher reported a dip in first-half profit, as a boost from good weather in the first quarter was offset by a tougher second quarter.

The company, which owns B&Q and Screwfix in the UK, reported pre-tax profits for the six months to 2 August of £375m compared with £401m for the same period a year ago.

Ms Laury joined Kingfisher 11 years ago and is currently a member of the

Shares fall, yields rise as Fed, Scotland dominate

Global shares fell on Wednesday as markets strengthened bets on an early U.S. rate hike while persistent concerns over Scotland's future unnerved investors in Europe, helping a high-flying dollar hold on to recent gains.

European stocks fell for the fourth day in a row and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose for the fifth straight session, something not seen since early June.

Shares in the euro zone's biggest bank Santander (SAN.MC) fell 2 percent, twice as much as the euro zone financials index .SX7E and three times as much as the broader pan-European banking index .SX7P after the sudden death of its 79-year old chairman Emilio Botin.

Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan posted its largest fall in nearly six months.

In early trade the FTSEurofirst index of leading European shares was down 0.5 percent at 1379 points .FTEU3, Germany's DAX was down 0.7 percent .GDAXI and France's CAC 40 .FCHI and Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE were both down 0.3 percent.

The stock market slide on

Britain 'becoming like Downton Abbey', says TUC leader

The leader of Britain's trade union movement has warned of creating a "Downton Abbey-style" society in which social mobility "has hit reverse".

Frances O'Grady argued that there was "no sign of the economic recovery in most people's lives".

The TUC general secretary also said that, under the coalition, "class prejudice" was becoming "respectable".

The Conservatives said the party would not take "lectures from a cluster of union bosses on six-figure pay deals".

Ms O'Grady's speech to TUC delegates in Liverpool expanded on the annual conference's main theme of living standards.

'Silver spoons'

She said: "Are we going to settle for a nastier and poorer Britain - a Downton Abbey-style society, in which the living standards of the vast majority are sacrificed to

Pound falls on fears of Scottish independence

The pound has fallen to its lowest level in 10 months amid uncertainty about Scotland's future within the UK.

The currency fell 1% in early Monday Asian trading to $1.6165, and also fell almost 1% against the euro to 1 euro 2527.

It came after a YouGov poll suggested supporters of an independent Scotland had taken a narrow lead in the referendum debate for the first time.

Just a week ago sterling was trading at $1.66 against the US dollar.

Voters in Scotland go to the polls on Thursday, 18 September, when they will be asked the "Yes/No" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

The poll, which featured in the Sunday Times, suggested that

Public sector strikes hit schools and services around the UK

Strikes are taking place across the UK in a series of disputes with the government over pay, pensions and cuts, with more than a million public sector workers expected to join the action.

Firefighters, librarians and council staff are among those taking part from several trade unions, with rallies due to be held across the UK.

Thousands of pupils are set to miss lessons as many schools are closed.

But the Cabinet Office said it seemed most workers were at work as usual.

A spokesman for the cabinet office said