Nearly half of all first-time directors appointed at Britain’s biggest companies last year were women, offering renewed hope that the Government target of a 25 per cent female make-up of FTSE 100 boards by 2015 will be met.

Selling TV hits such as the natural history series Africa and Strictly Come Dancing around the world helped the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, to boost sales by 3 per cent to £1.16 billion in the year to March.

Punters with an interest in financial stocks have been avid followers of the banking guru Ian Gordon at Investec, and his latest missive pushed up Royal Bank of Scotland by more than 5 per cent. Mr Gordon’s stance on the taxpayer-owned bank changed from negative – after more than five months as a seller – in March, when he moved to a hold rating. He raised this to a buy earlier in the summer, and now thinks RBS will be a “key beneficiary of last Friday’s strong mortgage data”. (May was the best month since October 2008.)

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Burberry’s sales boost due to men

Dapper men snapping up Burberry's smart tailoring and accessories helped the luxury brand report forecast-beating sales yesterday.

Female Tory MPs call on major call on major firms to publish detailed information on how many women they employ

For true fashion fans – which includes the best (but not all) of the fashion press – the international collections are an arena into which new ideas are born. It’s about change, renewal and growth. That makes it sound a little like Carrousel in Logan’s Run.

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Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts has seen her annual pay more than halve but still collected a £6.8 million windfall, the company’s annual report showed today.

Creative director is credited with turning the Somerset-based firm into an international fashion powerhouse

Burberry today struck an upbeat note on its prospects in China, as an emerging army of luxury shoppers in the Asian country helped to drive a sharp uplift in annual profits.

Styling: Lee Holmes