Daily Business News Round Up 09/09

The Artesian blog takes a look at the business headlines, For personalised daily news, contact Artesian

Darling: We'll make the hard choices on spending - Labour will not flinch from 'hard choices' on public spending - but is right not to make cuts during a recession, Alistair Darling has said.

The Chancellor sought to draw the battle lines for the next election, suggesting Labour will cut costs but not services once the economy is growing again. (full story)


UK is Europe's 'easiest economy' - The UK is the fifth easiest economy in the world in which to conduct business, according to the World Bank.

It has moved up one place from last year in the bank's annual "Doing Business" survey, making it the best placed country in Europe. (full story)


China's Geely eyes bid for Ford's Volvo cars - China's Geely Automotive (0175.HK) said on Wednesday its parent wants to bid for Ford's (F.N) Volvo Car Corp, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to chase a foreign brand in a global industry overhaul.

The move could boost the profile of Geely, a small, home-grown car maker and, more importantly, give it access to Volvo technology it needs to upgrade its cars, analysts said, though some doubted it could manage an international brand. (full story)


Sports Direct upgrades profits on sales boost - Sports Direct today revealed revenues rose 10 per cent in the early summer and upgraded its profit forecasts as the retailer began to lift itself out of the recession.

Ahead of the company's annual meeting today, turnover at the sports retailer, owned by entrepreneur Mike Ashley, rose from last year’s £336 million to £375 million in the 13 weeks ending July 26. (full story)

Orange and T-Mobile merger could see 1,000 jobs cut - More than 1,000 British jobs could be lost as a result of Orange and T-Mobile's merger to create the UK's largest mobile phone company.

The companies confirmed on Tuesday that they are planning to merge their British operations to create a new jointly-owned business with more than 28.4m customers. (full story)