The UK pound rose back above $1.27 in choppy trading after Theresa May outlined her plans to step down as prime minister and trigger a Conservative party leadership contest next month.

Vedanta Resources has started its fightback against an attempt by the government of Zambia to seize control of its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) unit.

The Bank of England is considering imposing an additional floor on the amount of capital lenders have to hold to extend mortgages in the wake of eroding capital levels and riskier lending practices returning at British banks and building societies.

Net migration to the UK from other EU member states showed a slight uptick over the last three months of 2018, with 74,000 more people arriving in the country than leaving over the 12 months to December 31.

UK retail sales continued to grow in spring, despite Brexit uncertainties and supported by a strong labour market.

Britain’s energy watchdog has cut the returns energy networks such as National Grid are allowed to make following fierce criticism of the monopolies that own the pipes and cables that transport gas and electricity around the country.

George Soros, one of the world’s best-known investors, has amassed a stake in GAM, sending shares in the embattled Swiss asset manager up more than 10 per cent on Friday.

UK regulators have extended access to Openreach’s infrastructure to business networks as well as to those that are laying high-speed cables to support mobile and broadband networks.

South Africa’s Old Mutual has suspended its chief executive after a “material breakdown of trust and confidence” with the board.

UK bus and rail operator Stagecoach, which in April was disqualified from three rail franchise contests, has launched a second legal action against the Department for Transport.

SpaceX has successfully deployed 60 Starlink satellites into orbit, the first step in the Elon Musk-backed company’s bid to create a space-based internet connectivity service that competes with traditional networks. 

Brent crude rebounded slightly in Asian trading on Friday following its biggest one-day loss of the year overnight on rising US inventories and growth fears. 

President Donald Trump has directed US intelligence agencies to “quickly and fully co-operate” with an investigation into surveillance issues connected to his 2016 presidential campaign.

Consumer inflation in Japan edged up in April, lifted by pricier energy and utilities, but remained well below the Bank of Japan’s 2 per cent target. 

US copper miner Freeport-McMoRan has sold its cobalt refinery in Finland to Belgium’s Umicore for $150m.

Wall Street fell sharply on Thursday, extending a broad and deep sell-off across global stock markets as concern about the potential impact of the deepening trade dispute between the US and China took a tighter grip on sentiment.

Facebook said it took down a record 2.2bn fake accounts in the first three months of this year, only slightly less than the total number of monthly active users on the social media network, in a sign that its battle against bad actors is far from over.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was on track for its biggest loss of the year so far on Thursday, as traders weighed the risks from a US-China trade war and rising inventories in the US.

Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer, will name chief operating officer Carlos Crespo as chief executive, taking some of the responsibilities now held by executive chairman Pablo Isla, the company said Thursday.

Deutsche Bank shareholders on Thursday evening voted in favor of all members of the struggling lender’s management board and supervisory board, but the approval rating was markedly lower than last year.

A disease ravaging hog farms 11,000km away in China is affecting US restaurant chains and meat producers, leaving customers forking over higher prices for their pork.

Chris Mahoney, the veteran head of Glencore’s agricultural business, has announced his retirement after 17 years as chief executive.

The judge in the trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, a central figure in the 1MDB scandal, has extended the time for prosecutors to produce evidence and present it to the defence.

Embattled travel group Thomas Cook on Thursday said it received a bid for its northern European business from the private equity firm Triton Partners.