The US Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to reconsider a ruling that would have required Rio Tinto to defend against a lawsuit accusing it of contributing to genocide in Papua New Guinea – which it denies. The order comes after the court dismissed a suit accusing Shell of facilitating torture in Nigeria in a test case that limited the ability of plaintiffs to invoke the 1789 Alien Tort Statute.

The Government is to proceed with plans to sell some or all of its one-third shareholding in the uranium enrichment company Urenco. The stake is expected to fetch an estimated £3bn – valuing the whole company at £9bn.

The Government today said it would proceed with plans to sell some or all of its one-third shareholding in uranium enrichment company Urenco. The stake is expected to fetch an estimated £3 billion.

The Bumi saga took another twist today as the coal miner set up by financier Nat Rothschild broadened an internal review into its key Berau subsidiary – forcing the suspension of its shares.

More than 500 businessmen, including former Marks & Spencer chief executive Sir Stuart Rose and the heads of Next, B&Q and Harvey Nichols, have launched a campaign to negotiate a better deal for Britain in the EU.

The deterioration in household finances sped up last month as rising living costs and falling income continued to take their toll on cash reserves.

BHP's incoming chief executive Andrew Mackenzie has begun with a bang, cutting his own expected salary by a quarter and ousting the trio of senior staff who were chief contenders for his new job.

Tim Breeden, the recently retired former chief executive of Legal & General, saw his total pay, benefits and bonus package quadruple to £9.4m last year, helped by the vesting of a deferred bonus scheme.

China's inflation tumbled to 2.1 per cent last month as food price growth slowed, taking pressure off consumers but raising questions about the strength of recovery in the world’s second biggest economy.