Coca-Cola has agreed to buy coffee chain Costa for £3.9bn (€4.4bn) to extend its push into healthier drinks and take on the likes of Starbucks and Nestle in the booming global coffee market.

Whitbread, Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator, reported a sharp slowdown in revenue growth at its Premier Inn business, helping knock its shares which had risen sharply the past month.

After opening shops across New York, UK sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger may be heading for Wall Street.

Whitbread said underlying sales at its Costa Coffee chain recovered over the last three months and its Premier Inn hotel brand continued to grow, sending shares in the company 3% higher.

Whitbread, an operator of hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops, stood by its expansion plans in the UK and international markets, after posting a near 12% rise in full-year profit.

Crabbie’s Grand National hero Rule The World is set to make a swift return to action in the Growise Champion Novice Chase at next week’s Punchestown Festival.

Whitbread one of Britain’s biggest employers, plans cost savings and will raise some of its prices to counter the substantial impact of enforced wage increases at its Premier Inn hotels and Costa Coffee businesses.

THE Sound of Things Falling by Colombian author, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated from Spanish by Canadian Anne McLean, is the winner of the 2014 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award and €100,000 — but how do awards affect the winners — and the losers? Do they really matter?

Britain’s burgeoning coffee shop culture has helped Costa grow annual profits by more than a fifth as sales and store numbers surged.

Profits at coffee shop chain Costa have risen by a fifth after more strong sales and a surge in the size of its UK estate to more than 1,600 stores.

Hopes of an international compromise on the Syrian crisis fuelled gains on the FTSE 100 Index as oil prices also eased back from recent highs.

Whitbread unveiled a compact version of its Premier Inn hotel brand today in an effort to attract city centre visitors who favour price over space.

The company which owns the Costa Coffee chain says it expects to create 12,000 jobs in the UK over the next five years.

Horsemeat weighing 40kg (88lb) has been sold to shoppers in the UK while wrongly labelled as beef, the country's Food Standards Agency said.

London's blue chip index failed to find direction today as investors sat tight ahead of news from the eurozone and economic data this week.

Uncertainty caused by tonight's US fiscal cliff deadline quashed any celebrations over a near 6% jump for the FTSE 100 Index over 2012.

Hotel chain Travelodge was thrown a lifeline today as landlords and creditors backed a controversial rescue deal.

One of the UK and Ireland's biggest budget hotel operators is set to walk away from 49 of its hotels and write off £700m (€892m) of its debts under a controversial rescue deal.

One of Britain’s biggest budget hotel operators was today considering walking away from up to 50 of its sites to help tackle its £500m (€638m) debt mountain.

The rapid growth of Premier Inn and coffee chain Costa continued today after their owner Whitbread reported better-than-expected sales figures.

London’s blue chip index fell for a second day running as investors took fright at slower than expected growth in China and rising inflation fears in the United States.

Shares in London closed higher tonight despite falls on European markets because of continuing fears over the eurozone debt crisis.

The squeeze on consumer spending is failing to deter coffee lovers after the owner of Costa today reported a surge in half-year sales.

Leisure group Whitbread said the casual dining market in the UK had become “more difficult” as it reported a slowdown in sales growth today.

Fashion house Burberry was the top faller in the FTSE 100 Index today as its stellar annual results were overshadowed by a bout of profit-taking.

A WEEK ago The Midnight Club and I managed to negotiate those Grand National fences at Aintree, admittedly in our own good time, and today it’s a case of trying to do a lot better in the Scotttish equivalent at Ayr.

World markets suffered heavy declines today amid fresh fears over Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis and a lacklustre start to the US earnings season.

The London market was dragged down today by fears over the impact higher oil prices will have on inflation and global economic growth.

The London market retreated today as fears over China’s decision to raise interest rates continued to weigh on the minds of investors.

London's FTSE 100 Index shrugged off concerns in the banking sector today as a buoyant session on Wall Street helped blue chips make gains.

The FTSE 100 Index closed in the red for a second straight session today after a mixed report on the US jobs market.

Commodity and banking stocks briefly pushed the FTSE 100 Index past the 5900 mark today before it slipped back again.

The FTSE 100 Index returned above the 5900 barrier today as the London market overcame the impact of the UK's big freeze on travel and retail stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index rose to its highest level for two-and-a-half-years today amid market rumours of a bid from Royal Dutch Shell for rival BP.

Whitbread and retailer Carpetright suffered share price falls today after failing to shake off worries over a New Year spending squeeze.

London’s blue chip share index dropped into the red today as investor nerves built ahead of key UK economic news.

Markets on both sides of the Atlantic were slightly lower today as fresh concerns about the European banking system cooled the September rally.

Leisure group Whitbread reported stronger sales at its budget hotel brand Premier Inn today after a pick-up in demand from business customers.

Disappointing US jobs figures overshadowed a return to profit for British taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland today.

The FTSE 100 slipped into the red today as a surprise rise in US benefit claims took the gloss off decent half-year profits from insurer Aviva.

The FTSE 100 Index pushed back above the 5,000 mark today as renewed talk of Qatari interest in Sainsbury's thrust the UK's third biggest supermarket into the takeover spotlight.