Margareta Pagano: Apple a game-changer again with 'simpler tax' call

I am writing this article on my Apple iMac. Beside me is a skinny capp from Starbucks, and I have already used Google to research information for this piece. Like most of the population, I am queasy about how little tax the trio pay but, while I could boycott the coffee, it's not so easy to do without Apple or Google.

Investors target City regulator over handling of 2008 bank collapse

Campaigners fighting on behalf of almost one million Bradford & Bingley investors have fixed their sights on the City regulator.

Ryanair's dream to be grounded: Watchdog poised to order Michael O'Leary to halve carrier's stake in Aer Lingus

Michael O'Leary, the outspoken Ryanair boss who has harboured dreams of owning Aer Lingus, will be told this week to sell around half of the budget airline's stake in Ireland's national flag carrier.

Saudi giant Aramco snaps up slice of Exeter tiddler

Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, has taken a 25 per cent stake in a tiny Exeter-based manufacturer of drilling products.

Pioneer fund HICL's sights on £100m buy

The country's first listed infrastructure fund, HICL, is understood to be mulling a tilt for a portfolio of socially driven projects.

Mine's a double: Private equity could get twice £75m it paid for bottle maker

James Thompson

Co-op in disarray as finance chief, Steve Humes, quits

The finance boss of the Co-operative Group has been forced to resign from the funerals-to-supermarkets group as its banking division lurches from crisis to crisis, leaving 6.5 million customers fretting over their accounts.

A flood of cash to buy up the water companies

If City analysts are right, Severn Trent chief executive Tony Wray should be celebrating his final annual figures at the helm with a glass of champagne rather than the tap water the listed utility supplies to 3.7m homes and businesses. Scribblers at Société Générale have forecast another bumper year, with revenue up to £1.84bn and a pre-tax and interest profit of £501m – a margin that is, once a

Hamish McRae: Tech revolution will run and run – but where to next is the question

A holiday weekend and a chance for reflection on what really changes our lives and what merely trims it at the edges. Those of us who write about economics inevitably focus on what is happening to the economy: whether it is growing, what is happening to jobs, interest rates, inflation and all that. However, there is another side to our economic life which is just as important, maybe more so, and

Business week in review

In profit...

Jim Armitage: Alone and unloved, Swiss provide a salutary lesson for the Eurosceptics

Conservative backbenchers like to cite Switzerland as an example of how it’s possible to trade in Europe while remaining out of the European Union. But within Switzerland itself, this benefit is not quite so apparent. As the noose tightens on the world’s most famous tax evasion mecca, it finds itself increasingly friendless.

Market Report: Rough ride endured by rattled retailers

Retailers had a tough time on the markets yesterday, with analysts sticking the knife in and investors dumping stock as the FTSE ended its month-long climb.

With lottery sales hitting an all-time high of £7bn, Camelot chief executive Dianne Thompson has every reason to be smiling

If you hit the jackpot on the National Lottery, and choose to make the trip to Camelot’s headquarters in Watford to pick up your cheque, there is a chance the person handing over your winnings will be Dianne Thompson. “I love sitting down and talking to winners,” says the woman who has headed up the lottery for more than 12 years. “I always want to know where they were when they found out.”

787 Dreamliner flights to resume

The airline with the greatest number of Boeing’s new Dreamliner jets will be the first to resume commercial flights with it today, four months after the 787 jet was grounded over safety fears.

Waitrose feasts on Eurovision boost

If you’re going to stay in for an evening of cheesy pop, camp presenters and political voting à la Eurovision, you may as well munch on the continent’s finest cuisine.

P&G chief AG Lafley returning

Incoming Procter & Gamble boss AG Lafley yesterday said that a sense of “duty” had persuaded him to return to his former job at the consumer goods giant.

Google eyeing sat-nav startup Waze

Google is reportedly eyeing a bid of $1bn (£725m) or more for Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze, just as the internet giant faces a fresh probe into its dominance in America.

Anthony Hilton: Britain’s malaise will last for a while, but at least it’s better than Japan

I remember a conversation with Paul Fisher in his office deep in the bowels of the Bank of England one day last summer when he said Japan was still struggling after 20 years to get back on its feet following its financial crash so we should not expect too much too soon from the United Kingdom.

Anthony Hilton: Byrne’s right on pension funds – bigger is better

To Birmingham for an interesting speech from Liam Byrne – he who as a member of the Labour Government Treasury team famously left the note after the 2010 election warning the incoming Chancellor there was no money left.

Anthony Hilton: Gilbert deserves credit, not brickbats

I should declare an interest and tell you that on Monday evening I was a guest of Aberdeen Asset Management at the Chelsea Flower Show gala preview.

No quick recovery for UK economy says top Bank official

Britain will have to wait for the boom times to return despite “some signs of a pick-up” in the economy, Bank of England rate-setter Paul Fisher declared yesterday.

Murdochs to take board positions after News Corp split

Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, will take board positions on the two companies that will emerge next month when News Corp splits into two, with the media conglomerate’s directors approving the spin-off plans yesterday.

Outspoken fund manager Andy Brough joins the ranks of UKIP

One of the City’s best-known fund managers has joined UKIP as the business world continues to pick sides over Europe.

Banks given ultimatum to plug their black holes

Banks have been warned that they have just a month left to agree plans by the Bank of England to plug capital black holes.

The digital takeover: Why 2013 must see the end of traditional news consumption

I was in charge of _The Sun_ website on the day that Amy Winehouse died. Driving in Hertfordshire when the call came through from the newsdesk, I was told: "The body of a woman has been found at a house in Camden, but we do not know if it is Amy or not."

Co-operative Bank stops new corporate loans

The Co-operative Bank is to stop lending to new corporate customers as it seeks to repair a major hole in its finances - dealing a blow to efforts to ease the borrowing squeeze on small businesses.

Japan's All Nippon Airways first to resume Dreamliner flights

The airline with the greatest number of Boeing’s new Dreamliner jets will be the first to resume commercial flights with it on Sunday, four months after the 787 jet was grounded over safety fears.

Schroders star Andy Brough signs up for Ukip

One of the City’s best-known fund managers has joined Ukip as the business world continues to pick sides over Europe.

Lord Sugar turns a £50m profit on West End block

The Apprentice star Lord Sugar has sold a Mayfair office block for almost £50 million more than he bought it for just five years ago.

Eurovison boosts Waitrose's profits thanks to sales of meatballs and Danish pastries

If you’re going to stay in for an evening of cheesy pop, camp presenters and political voting à la Eurovision, you may as well munch on the continent’s finest cuisine.