US union leaders launch a large-scale strike at nine refineries after failing to agree on a new national contract with major oil companies.

Asian markets are mostly lower after activity in China's manufacturing sector shrank for the first time in more than two years.

Irish airline Ryanair raises its guidance for annual profits, but warns shareholders and analysts to "temper expectations" for the following year.

Financial group Scottish Friendly is set to double in size after announcing it is close to securing the takeover of another mutual.

Building supplies firm CRH sees its shares jump more than 5% after it agrees to buy assets from Lafarge and Holcim.

Growth in the UK manufacturing sector picked up slightly in January following a modest recovery in export orders, a closely-watched survey indicates.

Manufacturing growth in the eurozone remained "disappointingly meagre" last month, a survey says, as factories cut prices at the fastest rate since mid-2013.

Carmaker Suzuki extends Celerio car recall to three more countries after UK road tests uncovered braking failures.