UK construction firm Carillion sweetens its takeover offer for rival Balfour Beatty, arguing there is 'powerful strategic logic' in a merger.

The UK's economic recovery is unlikely to be export driven as its biggest trading partner is "dead in the water", a Bank of England policymaker has said.

South Korea's central bank cuts its key lending rate for the first time in 15 months to boost growth at home.

The number of UK homes repossessed during the Spring fell, but households have been warned to prepare for rate rises, lenders have said.

Asda said sales and market share for the last 10 weeks increased, but giant US owner Wal-Mart cut its profit forecast.

Shares in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway top $200,000 for the first time, valuing the firm at an estimated $326bn.

In light of a public campaign, Apple has banned two potentially hazardous chemicals from 22 of its iPhone and iPad assembly plants.

The world's biggest maker of personal computers, Lenovo, sees a 23% jump in net profit as laptop sales outperform industry average.