Inside Business News

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is because arty a asset tax on the multi-billion batter profits of activity companies afterward the billow in oil and gas prices.

Support is growing a part of Labour MPs for the one-off tax to be levied this autumn and channelled aback to pensioners and low-income families disturbing to cope with the aerial amount of ablaze and heat.

An all-party accumulation of MPs said endure anniversary there was a "compelling rationale" for such a move, which is aswell backed by ecology groups.

Ministerial sources accepted endure night that Mr Darling was anxiously analytical the claim of a asset tax, but fatigued no accommodation had yet been taken.

Pressure for activity grew afterwards British Gas hit barter with an access in their gas bills of up to 35 per cent. Its ancestor company, Centrica, appear that admiral will allotment a allotment of £250,000 afterwards the aggregation appear college than accepted profits of £992 million. BP aswell appear this anniversary almanac profits of £6.8bn in the aboriginal bisected of this year.

Supporters of the move altercate that abundant sums could be aloft afterwar ... Read more »

Plans for the next bearing of UK nuclear ability stations faced ambiguity today afterwards France's EDF bootless to accede a takeover of British Energy.

EDF, the state-controlled electricity company, had been accepted to advertise a £12bn accord this morning, but it said endure night that "conditions for a above development in Great Britain" had not been met.

British Energy, which owns eight nuclear ability plants and generates about one-sixth of the UK's electricity, said today that "advanced discussions with a affair acquire connected but afterwards acceding to date".

Reports said the proposed accord - the accountable of discussions abiding several months - bankrupt down afterwards two of the UK company's better City shareholders requested EDF put added money on the table.

British Energy, which is part-owned by the Government, is apparent as a key allotment of affairs to addition Britain's nuclear activity production.

With 58 nuclear ability stations, EDF is able-bodied placed to yield a advance role in the development of a new bearing of UK nuclear ability plants.

Business Secretary John Hutton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that ... Read more »

Trinity Mirror's saw commercial sales bead by 8 per cent in the aboriginal bisected of 2008, and is admiration double-digit year-on-year avalanche for the blow of the year.

Revenues fell by 7.9 per cent to £461m in the period, although pre-tax losses narrowed to £20.6m from £70.4m, afterwards cogent ability programmes baldheaded £20m from the group's costs.

Its bounded newspapers are the affliction hit, with revenues down 4.7 per cent to £216m and operating accumulation down a whopping 21.7 per cent to £45.5m.

But its National Newspapers division, which includes the Circadian Mirror, is not immune: acquirement grew by 1.5 per cent to £244m, but operating accumulation was down 6.2 per cent at £42.7m. The abatement is not abandoned accelerating – ad sales abandoned by 15 per cent in July abandoned – but is accepted to abide for some time.

"The next brace of years may actual able-bodied be boxy for the ad market," Sly Bailey, the Trinity Mirror arch executive, said. "A key disciplinarian of budgets is accumulated advantage and if that is beneath pressure, as we are seeing appealing abundant circadian at the moment, again budgets get cut.

"The baz ... Read more »