FT

Rise partly reflects VAT increases in southern European countries hit by the crisis over public finances, with price pressures expected to remain moderate in the months ahead

Economic expansion slowed in the second quarter of the year as a swelling trade deficit and weaker consumer spending proved a drag on the recovery

The data promise to bolster the government’s economic message ahead of the September 19 election, with recent polls showing the four-party Alliance edging ahead of the Red-Green opposition

Latest household employment survey reveals that 32,800 additional people had joined the dole queue in the three months to the end of June, taking the total to 4.65m, or 20.09 per cent of the active population

Coffee prices jump on the back of low availability of premium Arabica from key producer Colombia after a string of disappointing crops

Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, visits Beirut with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah as tensions rise over the Hariri tribunal

Disney has sold film studio Miramax for more than $660m to Filmyard Holdings, ending months of talks between the media group and various bidders

Europe’s biggest aerospace and defence group adds further weight to signs of a global industrial upturn after raising its sales and profit projections for the year, in spite of recording a 51 per cent fall in net profits for the first half

Global Markets Overview: The FTSE All-World index is down 0.2% following a lower-than-forecast GDP growth report for the US. Futures markets are pricing in lower opening prices for the S&P 500 index

The Italian prime minister has dramatically split with his one-time most powerful ally, accusing him of trying to administer a ‘slow death’ to their party, but says his government will survive the rupture

After losing almost £1bn in the past two years, the flag carrier said pre-tax losses for the three months to the end of June had been £164m

US regulators charged Samuel and Charles Wyly, two billionaire brothers whose interests range from software to restaurants, with reaping more than $550m in undisclosed gains by trading shares in companies on whose boards they sat

Google said that its search and advertising services were being blocked in China for first time since its groundbreaking compromise with the Chinese government earlier this month

The US public’s hope of getting repaid for the bail-outs of Bear Stearns and AIG in the financial crisis increased on Thursday after the Federal Reserve reported a paper profit for the first time on all the holdings of securities bought from the companies

EDF Networks has low-voltage electricity distribution networks in the east and south of England, long-term contracts with businesses such as London Underground, Heathrow and Gatwick, and the Channel Tunnel

Andrew Wylie, the literary agent whose exclusive deal with Amazon.com last week stunned the publishing world, has threatened a broad expansion of his digital publishing business to include up to 2,000 titles if traditional publishers refuse to improve digital royalties.

US banks are taking advantage of improving earnings and growing investor demand to raise billions of dollars in debt at low interest rates, a move that could boost the sector’s profits

The US bank did not admit to charges that it failed to disclose more than $40bn in subprime mortgage exposure but the settlement includes information that may be useful in cases against it

US government agencies charged with reviewing sensitive acquisitions are engaged in a debate over how to handle Huawei, the Chinese software and telecoms equipment-maker viewed with deep scepticism by government security experts

People associated with Mr Cameron’s visit said it was suspected that she had been taken ill and was travelling