LONDON (Reuters) – Admirers of Margaret Thatcher on Tuesday mourned the “Iron Lady” who as Britain’s longest serving prime minister in over a century pitched free-market capitalism as the only medicine for her country’s crippled economy and the crumbling Soviet bloc.

World leaders past and present, from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Barack Obama, led tributes the grocer’s daughter who sought to arrest Britain’s decline and helped Ronald Reagan broker an end to the Cold War.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and admirers worldwide are mourning Margaret Thatcher, who has died aged 87, as the “Iron Lady” who rolled back the state and faced down her enemies during 11 years as Britain’s first woman prime minister.

Her impact on the 1980s was such that opponents, including Labour’s Tony Blair and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, led tributes to a legacy that radically transformed the British economy along free-market lines now widely taken for granted and includes her role in the peaceful end to the Cold War.

LONDON (Reuters) – British industrial output rose much more than expected in February, driven by a rebound in manufacturing and higher demand for energy during the unusually cold month, official data showed on Tuesday.

The improvement in industry, which late last year was the main drag on the economy, allays fears of another economic contraction in the January-March period, which would tip Britain into its third recession in less than five years.

LONDON (Reuters) – British industrial output rose much more than expected in February, driven by a rebound in manufacturing and higher demand for energy during the unusually cold month, official data showed on Tuesday.

The improvement in industry, which late last year was the main drag on the economy, allays fears of another economic contraction in the January-March period, which would tip Britain into its third recession in less than five years.

LONDON (Reuters) – Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87.

Britain’s only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British premier since the early 19th century.

LONDON (Reuters) – Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who transformed Britain and inspired conservatives around the world by radically rolling back the state during her 11 years in power, died on Monday following a stroke. She was 87.

Britain’s only woman prime minister, the unyielding, outspoken Thatcher led the Conservatives to three election victories, governing from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous period in office by a British premier since the early 19th century.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – John Malone’s Liberty Global will get unconditional EU clearance for its $15.8 billion (10 billion pounds) bid for Virgin Media, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday, in a move which pits the U.S. billionaire against rival Rupert Murdoch.

Liberty Global, Europe’s No. 1 cable operator, unveiled the takeover offer for Britain’s second-biggest pay-TV provider in February. The move underscores the growing rivalry between cable groups and traditional telecoms operators.

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s most high-profile
entertainment retailer HMV was handed a lifeline on Friday when
a turnaround group bought it, ensuring a future for a firm which
gave the Beatles one of their first big breaks.

Opened on London’s Oxford Street by English composer Edward
Elgar in 1921, HMV was bought by restructuring specialist Hilco
in a deal worth about 50 million pounds ($76 million), a person
familiar with the situation said.

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) – China Mobile, Vodafone
and a group backed by George Soros entered the race to
secure a mobile licence in Myanmar, as the battle to operate in
one of the last major untapped markets kicked off.

The Chinese and British groups, the first and second-largest
operators in the world respectively, said on Thursday they had
formed a consortium to bid for a licence in the former Burma,
where the government wants to increase the number of mobile
operators from two to four.

LONDON (Reuters) – Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is in talks with Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to agree a wholesale deal that would enable the British group to offer its German customers superfast broadband and a TV service, a person familiar with the situation said.

Vodafone, traditionally a mobile-only company which has to rent fixed lines in wholesale deals to offer broadband in some markets, has come under pressure from investors and analysts to show how it can compete with cable TV groups and telecom firms who can lure customers with a combined offer for mobile, fixed calls, broadband and TV.