The bookmaker William Hill has hailed "excellent" trading after its retail arm performed well in the face of consumer uncertainty.

April has proven to be a dramatic month for bwin.party so far, and the rollercoaster continued yesterday as it slumped to the bottom of the mid-tier index. Declining 8.6p to 163.9p, the online gambling group was knocked back by sceptical comments over the chances of its being able to operate in the US.

William Hill, Britain's biggest bookmaker, has put down a $39m (£24m) wager on the US market, buying two Nevada sports-betting firms in what it promises is just the start of its international adventure.

Gigi Levy, the chief executive of online gaming company 888, is stepping down "to pursue other interests" after six years in the top job.

The Spring sunshine is set to drench the majority of the UK again today with more warm weather bringing a fine end to Britain's glorious "barbecue weekend".

Magazine journalism

This week's Spectator smartly commissions that opponent of press intrusion Max Mosley to review the latest work by investigative journalist Tom Bower.

Another example of how the bookie always wins?

Afraid so. Mr Topping was able to present the market with a strong set of results from William Hill yesterday – profits up 7 per cent to £277m – thanks to the World Cup and money it made in the gaming machines it has installed in many shops now.

Traders may have been left twiddling their thumbs yesterday morning after a technical glitch stopped trading on the London Stock Exchange, but once things got going Arm Holdings managed to power ahead as analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch ate humble pie.

Six parties have made it through to second-round bids for the Tote, the state-owned bookmaker which has been put up for sale.

All of a sudden, the big country is a troubled dominion. There was a brazen incursion at Punchestown yesterday where Big Zeb succumbed to an astonishing blitz of winners for Willie Mullins, and even Big Buck's no longer looks quite so invulnerable. Nobody, certainly, should be making too many assumptions on behalf of the four champions returning to the Cheltenham Festival in March. Ladbrokes are now offering just 4-1 that none of Big Buck's, Big Zeb, Binocular and Imperial Commander manages to retain his crown; and 125-1 that all four can do so.