Morgan Stanley has seen its second quarter revenues rise by 17%, beating market expectations.

Morgan Stanley has seen its second quarter revenues rise by 17%, beating market expectations.

The US bank's net revenues totalled $9.3bn (£5.7bn) in the three months to 30 June, up from $8bn a year earlier.

Morgan made a net loss of $558m, or 38 cents per share, during the quarter. However, the loss was caused by a one-off $1.7bn charge, without which Morgan would have made a profit of 64 cents.

The charge was caused by an investor converting its Morgan shares.

McDonald's profits rise 15% on higher global sales

Fast food giant McDonald's has seen its quarterly profits soar 15% on higher sales across all its global regions.

Its net profit for the three months to 30 June totalled $1.41bn (£866m), compared with $1.23bn a year earlier.

Revenue growth was led by Europe, where McDonald's same-store sales increased by 5.9%. They rose by 4.5% in US, and by 5.2% for the rest of the world.

The US technology giant Microsoft said its annual revenues hit a record of $69.94bn (£43.4bn).

The US technology giant Microsoft said its annual revenues hit a record of $69.94bn (£43.4bn).

Sales of the company's Xbox 360 videogame console and its Office software helped fuel the growth.

Net income at the world's biggest software maker jumped 23% to 23.15bn for the year.

Fake Apple stores found in Kunming city, China

An American blogger has discovered three fake Apple stores operating in Kunming city, China.

Pictures of the stores, their staff and a description of a stroll around them was posted on the BirdAbroad blog.

In the article, she writes about conversations with staff, many of whom were convinced that they were employed by the US electronics firm.

Nokia suffers heavy loss as sales slip

Mobile phone giant Nokia has plunged into the red as sales fell and margins were squeezed in the second quarter.

The firm made a net loss of 368m euros ($521m; £323m) in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of 227m euros a year earlier. Net sales fell by 7% to 9.3bn euros.

It had warned that its second quarter results would be disappointing.

Marks & Spencer gains share in tough clothes market

Marks and Spencer has reported sales growth and a bigger market share despite the stagnant UK clothes market.

Like-for-like UK sales excluding VAT in the 13 weeks to 2 July rose 1.7% versus a year ago, in line with expectations.

The growth was entirely driven by food sales. Non-food like-for-like sales saw zero growth - an improvement on the 3.9% fall in the previous quarter.

Entrance into HDTV market seen boosting Apple's market cap by $100B

Categorizing Apple's rumored entrance into the high-definition television market as an "eventual" next step, a new analysis concludes that such a move could increase the company's market capitalization by $100 billion, or $100 per share in incremental value.

Analyst Maynard Um with UBS Investment Research does not believe it is a foregone conclusion that Apple will enter the television market by manufacturing its own HDTV. But he does believe the "logic is sound" for Apple to enter the market with a new product differentiated enough to stand out from the competition.