House prices fall, say Halifax

British house prices fell more sharply than expected in April after the introduction of a new tax on the purchase of rental properties, according to mortgage lender Halifax.

House prices fell by 0.8 percent in April, double what was expected by economists and down from a 2.2 percent jump in March.

House prices also slowed on the year, rising by 9.2 percent in the three months to April, down from 10.1 percent in the three months to March.

China rules in favour of Facebook in trademark row

A court in Beijing has ruled in favour of Facebook and against the Zhongshan Pearl River company, who registered the name ‘face book’ as a trademark.

The court said they had “violated moral principles” with “obvious intention to duplicate and copy from another high-profile trademark”.

This ruling was made despite Facebook being banned in China, leading to speculation that the country’s stance against the social media site may be softening. During a recent visit, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met with China’s propaganda chief Liu Yunshan and media guru Jack Ma.

Greggs shares up despite “softer” trading conditions

Sales growth at bakery chain Greggs slowed over the last quarter after tough March trading conditions.

Like-for-like sales were up 3.7 percent in the first 18 weeks of 2016, down from the 6 percent increase this time last year.

In a statement, the company said:

“As has been widely reported, conditions on the High Street were softer in March before recovering in recent weeks; these conditions were reflected in our own performance.

“Input cost inflation remains low despite increased wage costs… we expect to make progress in line with our previous expectations”.

Shares are currently up 5.34 percent at 1,125.00 (0930GMT).

09/05/2016