O'Brien raises stake in INM

August 01 2007 04:46 AM

BUSINESSMAN Denis O'Brien has raised his stake in Independent News & Media, the publisher of this paper, to 9.08pc.

Mr O'Brien had previously informed INM on June 6 that he held 8.35pc of the group's stock.

Dow Jones sale edging closer

BOTH sides negotiating a possible sale of Dow Jones & Co to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp appeared to be edging closer to a final decision yesterday, newspapers reported.

The boards of both companies planned to meet late yesterday evening to discuss whether to proceed with the deal or not, The Wall Street Journal reported.

UK retailers sing in rain

WET weather, floods and recent interest rate rises have proved less costly for UK retailers than first feared, a high street survey for July has revealed.

The monthly distributive trades survey by business lobby group

The CBI found that 42pc of retailers said sales volumes were higher than a year ago.

Even so, stores failed to see the summer spending spree they hoped for and are bracing themselves for a slowdown next month as the higher cost of borrowing continues to take effect.

US home prices fall again

US home prices fell for a fifth consecutive month in May, a housing index released yesterday by Standard & Poor's said. It was the index's steepest drop in about 16 years.

The results stack up as more evidence that the housing market is not recovering, at least for now.

Americans shun shopping

AMERICANS took a shopping break in June, boosting their spending at the slowest pace in nine months as high gasoline prices and fallout from the housing slump made people think twice about buying.

Consumer spending edged up by just 0.1pc.