LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell on Wednesday after Verizon Communications (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ruled out a full takeover, turning the focus yet again to whether the two telecom giants can do a deal over their Verizon Wireless joint venture.

The British group’s shares have risen more than 25 percent this year on hopes that it would sell its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for around $115 billion and end an often fractious relationship.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain looks headed for recession and its current account deficit last year was the worst since 1989, data showed on Wednesday, dimming government hopes of a growth boost from exports and investment.

The Office for National Statistics confirmed that gross domestic product dropped 0.3 percent in the October-December period compared with the previous quarter, dragged down by sharp falls in industrial production and exports.

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) – Sharp falls in industrial
production and exports shrank Britain’s overall output at the
end of 2012, data confirmed on Wednesday, pushing the economy to
the brink of a “triple-dip” recession.

The Office for National Statistics said that gross domestic
product dropped 0.3 percent on the quarter in the
October-December period. Compared with a year earlier, GDP grew
0.2 percent, slightly less than estimated earlier.

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) – At the height of an
investigation into a group of Islamists plotting al
Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain in 2004, British
spies analysed more than 4,000 telephone contacts to build up a
picture of what they were planning and with whom.

The security services say the information was crucial in
helping to thwart what could have been one of the deadliest
attacks on Britain and to bring the cell to justice.

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) – Fund manager Schroders Plc
is to pay 424 million pounds ($646 million) for smaller
rival Cazenove Capital, as it moves to bulk up its private
banking arm running money for wealthy clients.

The agreed transaction, announced on Monday, is the largest
in Schroders’ over 200-year history and means two of London’s
oldest names coming together under the same roof.

LONDON/NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) – Almost five years
after taking the helm at the world’s second-largest mobile phone
company, Vittorio Colao doesn’t want to be the third Vodafone
boss to be stumped by its seemingly intractable U.S. ‘problem’.

The urbane Italian, who has streamlined a company built on
the foundations of aggressive expansion, is exploring what to do
with the one remaining asset he does not control – the stake in
U.S. operator Verizon Wireless, which makes up about 75 percent
of the firm’s value.

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron
abruptly ended cross-party talks on regulating Britain’s
famously aggressive newspapers on Thursday and tabled a vote on
light-touch rules instead, prompting allegations he is in thrall
to the press barons.

Victims of scandal-hungry tabloids who have had their phones
hacked and life stories misreported have pressed Cameron to
implement the findings of a judge-led inquiry that recommended
the creation of a tough press regulator backed by legislation.

MADRID/LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) – France Telecom’s
Orange and Vodafone will invest up to 1 billion
euros ($1.3 billion) in a joint fibre optic network in Spain
that will bring superfast Internet to 6 million homes, the
telecom industry rivals said on Wednesday.

Both companies are struggling to compete with the fibre
optic network of Spanish former monopoly Telefonica,
which reaches 2.2 million homes.

BARCELONA (Reuters) – A strange phenomenon hit Hong Kong in late 2011.

As the clock hit 10 pm each night a Coca Cola ad aired on television, prompting thousands of viewers to grab their phones and start shaking them frantically to virtually “catch” the falling bottle caps on the screen and win instant prizes.

Dubbed Chok! Chok! Chok! – meaning rapid motion in local slang – the interactive campaign by McCann Worldgroup became a hit, and sent viewers at home, in cinemas and in front of giant outdoor screens into a frenzy. (link.reuters.com/wux36t)

BARCELONA, Feb 28 (Reuters) – A strange phenomenon hit Hong
Kong in late 2011.

As the clock hit 10 pm each night a Coca Cola ad aired on
television, prompting thousands of viewers to grab their phones
and start shaking them frantically to virtually “catch” the
falling bottle caps on the screen and win instant prizes.