ILO: Women in Europe 'better educated but paid less'

Women in Europe may be better educated or work harder than men, but they are paid substantially less, according to the International Labour Organization.

The gender pay gap in Europe ranges from about 100 euros (£79) to 700 euros per month, the ILO report suggested.

In the UK, women earn about 28% less than men on average, the UN body found.

In all the countries studied around the world, a proportion of the pay gap is unexplained, implying discrimination, it said.

"The actual gap varies from

Air France puts cost of pilots strike at €500m

Air France has estimated that last month's strike will cost it about €500m (£393m) in lost revenue.

The struggling French flag carrier was in dispute with pilots over plans to expand its budget subsidiary Transavia.

Finance director Pierre-Francois Riolacci said there would be an immediate impact of about 320-350m euros, plus loss of future business.

Shares in Europe's second-biggest airline fell 2.53% on Wednesday following the announcement.

The company has already cut its profit target for 2014.

Air France said that total passenger traffic fell

IMF warns of low interest rates 'risk' to economy

The International Monetary Fund has warned of new risks to global financial stability.

Low interest rates could lead investors to buy riskier assets as they seek better returns, the IMF says.

In a new report, it says there is a danger that this behaviour could derail the economic recovery, which the IMF has already described as "weak and uneven".

The report says the risks require "increased vigilance".

The IMF has already given its assessment of the wider economic recovery and is concerned about

EU to decry Apple's Irish tax deal

The European Commission will set out its case on Tuesday against Apple's tax arrangements in Ireland.

The report is part of a broader EU investigation into tax policies in Ireland, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The Commission is examining whether these countries have unfairly favoured multinational companies including Apple, Fiat and Starbucks.

The EU will make its case that Apple's tax arrangements with Dublin amount to illegal state aid.

The Commission will argue that backroom tax deals it believes were struck between Apple and the Irish government could constitute a breach of EU regulations on state aid.

However, Apple denies any special arrangements were in place.

"There's never been anything that would be construed as state aid," Apple's chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, told the Financial Times newspaper.

Apple says it pays all the tax it owes.

Facebook to win EU approval for $19 billion WhatsApp bid: sources

Facebook (FB.O), the world's leading social network, will win unconditional EU approval for its $19 billion offer for mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal pitting it against telecoms operators, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The landmark acquisition, the largest in Facebook's 10-year history, will give the company a firm foothold in the fast-growing mobile messaging market.

A plan by WhatsApp to add free voice-call services for its 450 million customers later this year, however, makes it a potentially powerful competitor to companies such as Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica (TEF.MC).

Analysts said the move is likely to hit

Google responds to News Corp 'platform for piracy' blog

Google has responded to an attack by the chief executive of News Corp, who called it a "platform for piracy".

Robert Thomson's letter had urged the European Commission to take a tougher approach to Google's market dominance.

But in a detailed response on its website, the search company said it "has done more than almost any other company to help tackle online piracy".

Google also defended itself against accusations that it uses its market position to stifle competition.

The Commission is currently in the process of deciding how far to curtail Google's market dominance in Europe.

Google's blog, posted by Rachel Whetstone, senior vice-president for Global Communications, argued that the internet offered more choice than ever.

"Because the competition is just one click away online, barriers to switching are very, very low," it said.

"Google is of course very popular in Europe, but we are not

Stock markets shaken by Apple slide

Leading US shares have fallen on Wall Street, dragged lower by Apple, which slipped 3.5% after the technology giant was forced to pull an update to its iOS 8 operating system.

The main Dow Jones index was down more than 200 points, or 1.3%, at 16,986 in early trading.

Investor confidence was also knocked by weak durable goods orders figures released by the Commerce Department.

European markets also fell sharply after Wall Street opened.

Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 indexes were down about 1.5%, while the UK's FTSE 100 was 1.2% lower.

'Under fire'

Other technology stocks listed on Wall Street were also hit by Apple's slide - both Microsoft and Intel were down 1.6%.

Earlier, the world's biggest technology company apologised after

Samsung laptops to be pulled from sale in Europe

Samsung has announced that it is ending sales of its laptop computers in Europe.

The move includes its Chromebook model, which had previously been one of the category's best-sellers.

The South Korean company's decision follows Sony's announcement earlier this year that it was selling its Vaio division and pulling out of PC sales altogether.

However, other firms have recently reported growth in the sector.

Samsung signalled it might consider similar action in other parts of the globe.

"We quickly adapt to market needs and demands," said the company in a statement.

"In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now.

"This is specific to the region - and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets.

"We will continue to thoroughly evaluate market conditions and will make further adjustments to maintain our competitiveness in emerging PC categories."

Market analysis firm IDC has predicted that portable PC sales will grow by

German business confidence falls further, Ifo survey finds

Europe's largest economy has shown further signs of fragility, as a key indicator of German business confidence fell for a fifth successive month.

The Ifo think tank's Business Climate Index dropped to 104.7, slightly below analysts' expectations, and the lowest reading since April last year.

"The German economy is no longer running smoothly," Ifo said, but added that it still expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow in 2014.

GDP shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter.

On Monday, Germany's central bank insisted that the country's economy remained robust, adding that "the general economic trend should stay positive despite the slowdown in the speed of expansion in the first half of 2014".

However, monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures, released on Tuesday, indicated that

EU's Almunia says may probe Google's non-search services

Google Inc, the target of an EU antitrust investigation into its internet search engine, may face further scrutiny over its other services following several complaints, Europe's antitrust chief said on Tuesday.

European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said this meant Google could end up a bigger case than Microsoft Corp, which found itself embroiled in a decade-long battle with the EU watchdog and was hit with more than 2.2 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in fines.

"We have received complaints on the possible diversion of internet traffic toward Google services which are not search services, so this is a possible third investigation concerning Google," Almunia told a European Parliament hearing.

Google spokesman Al Verney said

Eurozone business growth slows in September, PMI survey finds

Eurozone business growth cooled in September for a second consecutive month, dropping to its slowest pace since December, a survey suggests.

The latest Markit Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 52.3 from August's 52.5.

A reading above 50 indicates growth.

Modest growth in Europe's biggest economy, Germany, provided some cheer, but the eurozone was brought down by stagnation elsewhere, particularly in France, where PMI fell to 49.1.

Manufacturing across the eurozone fared worse than the service sector, with the PMI reading falling to 50.5, the lowest measure since July of last year.

"The survey paints a picture of ongoing malaise in the eurozone economy," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

"With growth of output and

OECD sees global economy held back by slow eurozone

A slow recovery among nations using the euro is holding back the global economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has said.

The market economy group downgraded its growth forecast for most big economies.

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the referendum on an independent Scotland are areas of risk and uncertainty, it said.

Its 2014 estimate is a 0.8% increase in the eurozone economy for 2014, compared with a forecast of 1.2% made in May.

The UK's forecast was cut by

Heineken rejects takeover offer from SABMiller

Dutch brewing giant Heineken has rejected a takeover offer from London brewer SABMiller saying the proposal is "non-actionable".

Heineken said it had "consulted with its majority shareholder" before rejecting the approach.

It said the Heineken family, the founding family which still owns half of the firm, wanted to preserve the firm as "an independent company".

Heineken said it was confident it would continue to grow.

"The Heineken family and Heineken N.V.'s management are confident that