About one-third of small to medium-sized enterprises feel less confident in their ability to grow this year after the government’s Autumn Statement, in a sign of the pessimism spreading among many of the UK’s more entrepreneurial companies.The number of SMEs planning to expand has fallen…

There’s a long-running gripe among China-focused western bankers that the further an investor is from Beijing, the more negatively they view the Middle Kingdom. That has seldom been more true than today when despite a one-third rally in Chinese stock benchmarks in just three months,…

A source familiar with the near-collision of two airliners on a John F. Kennedy International Airport runway tells CNN that special flashing lights which warn pilots against taxiing across a runway were in fact working. The new development further raises the possibility that human error…

Chesapeake Energy, a prime mover in the US shale energy revolution, has struck a $1.4bn deal to offload the bulk of its Texas oil assets as it ditches crude production in favour of drilling for natural gas.The company said on Wednesday it had agreed to…

Stock futures were flat Wednesday night as investors awaited economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve leadersFutures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.03% and 0.05%, respectively.The moves come after…

French workers are set to take to the streets Thursday to protest radical reforms to the country’s pension system that, if implemented, will require most people in France to work two years longer before retirement. Eight of France’s largest unions – covering transportation, education, police,…