RBS pays out £588m in bonuses despite suffering £8.24bn loss

Royal Bank of Scotland has defended plans to pay £588m in staff bonuses despite suffering an £8.24bn loss in 2013 as it slumped into the red for the sixth successive year.

Tesco: Who says it's hard to make home delivery profits?

Tesco has piled the pressure on its rivals to state whether they make any money from their online operations after the UK's biggest supermarket said its groceries home delivery business made a massive £127m profit last year.

JP Morgan to cut 8,000 jobs in mortgage and retail

JP Morgan announced it will cut 8,000 jobs in its mortgage and retail banking sections as those businesses continue to shrink.

Google's Schmidt to give the world a $1 million tech upgrade

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt plans to dole out $1 million to companies around the world to help them upgrade their communication technology.

Apple, Samsung Again Fail to Settle U.S. Patent Case

Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) told a judge they again failed to settle their dispute over smartphone technology, with their next trial in federal court in California set to begin March 31.

Shell in $2.6bn Australia asset sale

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its Australian downstream business to oil trading firm Vitol for $2.6bn (£1.6bn).

Richard Branson insists he will be aboard first Virgin Galactic space flight

Richard Branson has reiterated his plan to fly with his children on the inaugural flight of his long-planned commercial space operation, Virgin Galactic, despite the relatively untested nature of the technology and a departure date which has slipped repeatedly.

Wal-Mart reports fall in quarterly profits

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has reported a 22% drop in quarterly profit and given a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for the coming year.

Samsung plans to sue Dyson over 'copycat' allegations on vacuum cleaner

Samsung Electronics has filed a lawsuit demanding 10bn Korean won (£5.6m) in compensation from the British appliance maker Dyson because it claims it was depicted as a copycat.

Poundland in £750m stock market float

Discount chain Poundland plans a £750m flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Toyota to Honda Lose Some Output as Snow Hits Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), Honda Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp. suspended output in some factories in Japan after the second major snowstorm this month disrupted shipments of parts from suppliers.

Thousands protest at axing of Coca-Cola bottling plants in Spain

MADRID: Thousands took to the streets in Madrid Saturday in protest at the closure of four bottling plants of US soft-drink giant Coca-Cola that would affect 1,250 workers.

Shell to sell off three North Sea assets

Shell is to sell its interests in three of its assets in the North Sea but says it is still committed to its operations in UK waters.

China Smartphone Shipments Post First Quarterly Drop Since 2011

Smartphone shipments in China fell for the first quarter in more than two years in a sign that growth in the world’s biggest market may moderate, according to market researcher IDC.

Lloyds Bank's Horta-Osorio defends £1.7m bonus to BBC

Lloyds Bank chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio says in an exclusive interview with the BBC that his bonus, worth £1.7m, is aligned with taxpayers' interests.

H&M to open first store in India in a bid catch up with rival Inditex

H&M will open its first store in India this year as the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer becomes the latest to take advantage of the opening of its economy to foreign operators.

Car industry: what Australia could learn from state support around the world

Car manufacturing is a proud pillar of the western world's industrial history, but the hollowing out of Detroit as a city and an economic force is just the most shocking example of a decline that has afflicted automotive superpowers such as the US, the UK, France and now Australia, where Toyota will close all of its factories by 2017.

Toyota to end car production in Australia by 2017

Toyota is to end its vehicle and engine production in Australia by the end of 2017, affecting thousands of jobs. It also announced plans to possibly scale down the operations of its development and technical centre there.

Barclays blasted over 'catastrophic' theft of thousands of customer files

Barclays is under scrutiny by regulators and could face a hefty fine after thousands of confidential files on customers were stolen in a data breach described as catastrophic by an adviser to the business secretary, Vince Cable.

Royal Mail staff accept 'ground-breaking' pay deal

Postal workers have voted overwhelmingly to accept what their trade union called "a ground-breaking" pay deal. Previously the Communication Workers Union (CWU) had been threatening industrial action.

Google search results changing in Europe

Google's search results in Europe will look very different after the company agreed to changes that should settle a long-running antitrust case.

Sony to sell PC unit and cut jobs

Sony has said it will sell its personal computer (PC) unit and split its TV division into a separate subsidiary as part of its restructuring programme. It will also cut 5,000 jobs globally in an attempt to turn around its fortunes.

What Facebook knows about you

Facebook has spent the past 10 years building a business upon your personal information. The social network knows a lot about you.

Oil giant BP sees profits fall as sell-offs hit

Oil giant BP saw profit fall in 2013 as lost income from asset sales hit.

Companies fight back against hedge funds

As activist investors intensify their efforts to shake up large firms, a new alliance has formed to hit back at the Carl Icahns and Dan Loebs of the world.

Coca-Cola workers protest layoffs in Spain

MADRID: Thousands of workers from Coca-Cola bottling factories in Spain marched Sunday in protest at plant closures they say will cost 750 jobs.

Wal-Mart lowers profits guidance

Wal-Mart has trimmed its trading outlook for this year, citing a range of one-off costs including the closure of some stores in China.

For companies, a rocky road ahead in emerging markets

(Reuters) - International companies are taking steps to mitigate the effects of the turmoil in emerging markets, including hedging foreign currency exposure more aggressively, reducing some investment plans, cutting costs, and raising prices frequently.