The World Cup may have boosted sales of beer in the last quarter. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA Wire/Press Association Images Quarterly beer sales are up on 12 months ago for the first time in four years, boosted by the World Cup and the unusually hot weather. According to the latest UK Quarterly Beer Barometer, beer sales [...]

Citigroup made a bn profit for the first half of this year. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images The US bank Citigroup is to pay a m (£48m) fine for hiding bn of sub-prime mortgage exposure from shareholders during the months leading up to the financial crisis which left it dependent on a vast government bailout to avert [...]

Santander’s name has replaced Abbey National in the UK, but it is still regarded as a newcomer. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Santander will continue its UK expansion by taking over 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches as early as next week. Today the Spanish bank reported a 10% rise in profit in its British arm. It [...]

John Makinson: the consumer must be given what the consumer wants. Photograph: David Levene/for the Guardian Penguin this week celebrates its 75th year and is marking the anniversary by repackaging a series of seminal books from the 1960s to the 1980s. Although the company might afford itself a brief look backwards, it feels as though [...]