Embattled entertainment and electronics giant Sony beat analysts’ expectations with first-half profits today, thanks to a weak yen and the success of Sony’s Xperia smartphones.

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Eve Online's biggest ever battle was the game's 'Battle of the Alamo'

Over 4,000 pilots were involved a one-tenth speed space battle for precious - virtual - resources

Satyajit Das: China sets out on long march back to self-reliance as trade gets rough

Midweek View: The country has become increasingly resentful about the destruction of the value of its savings
A pile of Bitcoins are shown here after Software engineer Mike Caldwell minted them in his shop on April 26, 2013 in Sandy, Utah. Bitcoin is an experimental digital currency used over the Internet that is gaining in popularity worldwide. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images

Bitcoin Ponzi scheme: Texas man sued for 'sham' worth $65m

Trendon Shavers took in 'at least' 700,000 Bitcoins by offering a 7% interest rate with 'zero risk'

Smiths warns profits will be hit by problems in detection division

The airport security-scanner maker Smiths Group warned that problems at its detection business would knock £15m off operating profit this year.

Why America is winning the modern Great Game

The US borrows in its own currency, benefiting from a ready market for its securities, both at home and abroad

Postcard from... Brussels

The eurozone is getting a new member, and with Latvia’s entry comes a new coin that could rattle around in pockets from the southern shores of Cyprus to the northern reaches of Finland.

Apple has been criticised for shipping jobs abroad, to companies such as Foxconn in China

Worldwide tech spending set to hit $3.7 trillion by end of 2013

Latest industry figures from Gartner show only 2% on 2012

Money Insider: How sending cash overseas is getting much cheaper

Transferring money overseas is a market that has been dominated for years by global banking institutions and established players including Western Union and MoneyGram.

The €200 note became a favourite for money-launderers

Just what the euro needs - another new member with a creaking economy

Croatia already effectively lives with interest rate decisions made by the European Central Bank so it might as well sign up for full membership

Larger transfers get the best exchange rates

British pensioners lose £10.6 billion by living abroad

Research from currency specialists HiFX shows that falls in the pound since the start of the financial crisis have resulted in expat pensioners losing thousands of pounds in income.  We look at ways you can protect yourself.

Japanese exports rise to US and China as the currency tumbles

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "shock and awe" tactics to revive the world's third biggest economy paid off in May with the biggest rise in exports since 2010.

The €200 note became a favourite for money-launderers

Goodbye, the money-launderer's choice: €200 note to be taken out of UK circulation

High-denomination notes vital for cash-only crime business that relies on huge cross-border financial transfers

Stock market rises in Iran after election of reformist-backed president Hasan Rowhani

Iran's stock exchange is climbing for the second day following the surprise election of a reformist-backed president.

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end