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The British Chamber of Commerce has revised its GDP forecasts as a separate poll showed consumer confidence was at its highest since October 2009.The GfK NOP consumer sentiment index rose more strongly than forecast, following growth of 0.3% in the UK economy in the first three months of the year...

Online retailer Amazon has altered its controversial pricing policy which bans its Marketplace traders from offering products cheaper elsewhere. The decision comes after an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into the policy as a result of numerous complaints.The Federal Cartel Office in Germany had also been investigating Amazon over...

The commercial director of Zara, Florence De Boosere, is set to join M&S in the role of store environment and product presentation director as the British retailer looks to update its stores.The new-look shops will include more multichannel features, more intelligent use of space and improved navigation.In other news, M&S...

Data from Kantar has revealed that a summer of good weather boosted supermarket group Sainsbury’s, with sales growth of 4.9%, outstripping the market.John Coll, of Kantar Worldpanel, said: “Sainsbury’s has continued to grow ahead of the market over the past 12 weeks, achieving sales growth of 4.9%."It benefitted from its...

Australian airline Qantas has returned to profit as its partnership with Emirates cut losses at its international arm.However, profits at its domestic arm dropped in the year to June 30th, a result of increasing competition threatening its dominance of the market.Alan Joyce, chief executive, said: “The Qantas-Emirates partnership gives the...

Ginger-beer firm Crabbie’s has taken on sponsorship of the Grand National, offering a £1 million prize for the first time in the race’s history. Beer brand John Smith’s sponsored the steeplechase from 2005 to 2013....

The head of the Co-operative Group has admitted that there are “no quick fixes” for the group, after heavy losses at its banking arm dragged the group £559 million into the red.The company faces a £1.5 billion hole in its balance sheet, having already written off £496 million of bad...

The Competition Commission has said that budget carrier Ryanair must reduce its 29.8% stake in rival Aer Lingus to just 5%.In its final report on the issue, the commission said that Ryanair’s shareholding could result in a substantial lessening of competition on routes between the UK and Ireland.Ryanair chief executive...

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has blamed the decline of Britain’s high streets on “draconian” anti-car measures, such as ““over-zealous” traffic wardens, and “street clutter” like bollards and road humps which prevent parking.Mr Pickles said research from the Association of Town and City Management pointed to falling numbers of shoppers where...

Kobo has updated the design of its e-readers to feature a “totally flat” front in order to compete with the Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon and Barnes & Noble's Nook Simple Touch.Although Kobo produces a range of Android-based tablets, but the firm told the BBC that its e-ink devices still accounted...