Mark Carney officially takes over as head of the UK's central bank, replacing Sir Mervyn King as governor of the Bank of England.

Payday lenders fail to live up to the "spirit or the letter" of codes they signed up to last year, consumer minister Jo Swinson says ahead of a summit.

Japanese manufacturers' sentiment turns positive for the first time in nearly two years, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey indicates.

A Chinese bank has topped a list of the world's top 1,000 banks for the first time, according to a survey by The Banker news and intelligence service.

China reports a slowdown in growth of its manufacturing sector, underlining concerns that its economic recovery remains fragile.

Nokia agrees to buy Siemens' 50% stake in their joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), for 1.7bn euros ($2.2bn; £1.5bn).

Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union after a decade of negotiations, with thousands joining celebrations across the country.

The consequences of the housing benefit cut introduced in April are worse than feared, according to the National Housing Federation.