Two men have avoided jail after admitting copying thousands of files from Sony Music, including previously unreleased tracks by Michael Jackson.

Asda must sell a quarter of Netto’s UK stores in order to gain clearance for its £778m acquisition of the discount chain, it emerged today.

Mother and baby specialist Mothercare today said its takeover of Early Learning Centre had delivered benefits "beyond expectation" as it posted a 12.4% hike in annual profits.

Pest control and hygiene firm Rentokil Initial continued its restructuring today by agreeing to sell its conference venues business for £325m (€474.7m).

Virgin Mobile and Carphone Warehouse today confirmed they were in talks over the launch of a mobile phone service in France.

Virgin Mobile today said its number of new customers had nearly halved in the first quarter but insisted its move into the contract market had proved successful.

Babycare retailer Mothercare said today it had traded resiliently in the UK, despite a 1.8% fall in like-for-like sales for the 15 weeks to July 8.

Babycare retailer Mothercare was reaping the rewards of a drive to modernise the chain today as it revealed profits surged 19% last year.

Losses by the owner of British-made upmarket car brands Jaguar and Land Rover contributed to a 38.5% fall in first quarter earnings at Ford, it emerged today.

Ford saw its shares fall to their lowest level in more than a year today after becoming the second US car giant in weeks to shock investors with a profits warning.

Babycare retailer Mothecare today said it expected annual results to meet hopes as sales picked up after a Christmas downturn.

Virgin Mobile today said customer numbers had broken through the five million barrier after it added a record number of new users over the Christmas quarter.

Babycare retailer Mothercare today said its sales revival had stalled over Christmas as weak demand for toys took its toll.

Babycare retailer Mothercare today said it had recovered from a hiccup in is sales revival as it moved to wring further costs from the business.

Virgin Mobile stuck by forecasts for annual profits today in spite of the prospect of weaker margins and revenues growth over Christmas.

Virgin Mobile today reported strong growth in revenues as it outlined plans to reward higher-spending customers who buy its services in advance.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone held talks with Virgin Mobile over a possible takeover just months before its stock market debut, it was reported today.

Virgin Mobile was today valued at £500m (€751m) as it launched on the London stock market at a price significantly lower than its previous hopes.

Richard Branson is unlikely to go ahead with plans to float Virgin Mobile on the stock market unless he gets the right price, it was reported today.

Virgin Mobile may be forced to cut its flotation price because of a lacklustre response from investors, it was reported today.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile today confirmed plans for a London stock market flotation in a move thought to value the company at more than £1bn (€1.49bn).

THE family of a six-year-old girl in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant have made an emotional appeal for people to attend blood testing sessions to try to find a potential donor.

Mother-and-baby group Mothercare saw shares tumble today after reporting a slide in Christmas sales.

Baby clothing and equipment group Mothercare signalled it was beginning to bounce back today after seeing sales growth return to the business.

Baby clothing and equipment group Mothercare signalled it was beginning to bounce back today after seeing sales growth return to the business.

Mums and toddlers giant Mothercare lost almost a fifth of its market value today after warning of another downturn in trading and parting with its embattled chief executive.

Mothercare boss Chris Martin paid the price for the retailer’s continuing slump today as the group warned it expected to report a loss at the half-year.

The Irish registered Meritus Racing team, based in Daventry, has formed a working relationship with the former double winning British Formula 3 Championship team, Manor Motorsport of Sheffield.

A missed call to climb to a higher altitude led to a mid-air ‘‘near disaster’’ involving an F15 military fighter and a holiday jet carrying 234 passengers, an official accident report disclosed today.