British supermarket Morrisons has been saved at the last minute from being kicked out of London’s blue chip index after its first rise in sales for nearly 18 months sent shares surging.

Heineken, the world’s third- biggest brewer, said poor spring weather in Europe led to weak second-quarter revenue and predicted that earnings this year won’t grow as consumers in the region curb spending.

Advanced Micro Devices, the long-struggling competitor of giant rival Intel, is facing yet another crisis amid a shifting technology landscape and declining demand for personal computers.

Fears that the European Central Bank will fail to prescribe the medicine needed for the ailing eurozone triggered big losses on London's leading shares index today.

Nestlé, the world’s biggest food group, is closing in on a deal to buy Pfizer’s infant nutrition business for up to $10bn (€7.6bn) to boost its business in China and extend its lead in the world of formula milk for babies, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.

The FTSE 100 Index soared past the 5600 level today as stock markets worldwide rallied ahead of Tuesday's key meeting on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.

The London market slipped back into the red today as optimism over bank bail-outs gave way to recession fears.

Retailers made strong advances on the London market today after better than expected sales figures for April.

IRISH drugs group Elan and its partner Biogen have withdrawn sales of its multiple sclerosis drugs after a patient died from the rare and often fatal central nervous system disease, sending shares of both drug makers tumbling.