Drought ends in south-east Australia

Currency update, October 18 - sterling hits high of $1.61

Sterling rose to the highest level against the US dollar since the end of January on Friday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that low inflation gave a case for more intervention by the Federal Reserve.

Currency update, October 15 - sterling rises against dollar

Sterling rose to the highest level in eight months against the US dollar yesterday.

Currency update, October 14 - Sterling hits a five month low

Sterling hit a 5 month low against the euro on Wednesday as weak consumer confidence data and mixed employment data saw confidence in the pound drop.

Currency update, October 13 - Bank of England comments cause sterling to fall

Sterling fell against both the euro and US dollar yesterday after downbeat comments from yet another member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee saw investors lose confidence in the UK economy.

Pernod Ricard groups international wines together

Pernod Ricard is to group its key international wine brands together under one umbrella - Premium Wine Brands - following a strategic review.

Currency update, October 4 - sterling falls but performs well against the dollar

Sterling fell to a four month low on Friday against euro as worries over further Quantitative Easing and poor data saw investors sell the pound.

Currency update, October 1 - EU farming subsidy causes sterling to drop

Sterling fell to a 4 month low against the euro yesterday after large flows related to the annual EU farming subsidy saw investors covering short positions after a surprise jump in orders for euros into sterling.

Currency update, September 30 - sterling falls due to concerns over Quantitative Easing

Sterling fell again against the euro yesterday after Tuesday's downbeat comments by a key Bank of England policy maker left sterling under severe pressure from investors.

Currency update, September 28 - sterling hits seven week high against dollar

Sterling rose against the US dollar to hit a seven week high of $1.5867/£1 as the US currency struggled to shake off concerns that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy further to stimulate the flagging recovery.

Currency update, September 24: Sterling rises as Euro zone data comes in worse than expected

Sterling rose against the euro yesterday as Euro zone data came in worse than expected and cast doubts over the validity of the region's recovery.

Currency update, September 23: Sterling falls to four month low

Sterling fell to a four month low against the euro yesterday of €1.1662/£1 and a two month low against a basket of major currencies.

Currency update, September 22: sterling falls to two month low

Sterling fell to a two month low against the euro yesterday after stronger than expected demand for Irish and Greek government bonds eased concerns over European sovereign debt.

Currency update, September 21: sterling falls to seven week low

Sterling fell to a seven week low against the euro yesterday after poor UK data highlighted a slow UK recovery.

Currency update, September 20: sterling holding firm

Sterling slipped against the US dollar on Friday, coming off an earlier 5 week high of $1.5730/£1 but holding firm above the $1.56/£1 level.

Currency update, September 17 - sterling falls to seven week low

Sterling fell to a seven week low against the euro yesterday as retail sales unexpectedly fell for August and high demand for Spanish debt strengthened the single currency.

Currency update, September 16: sterling performs well following increase in employment

Sterling performed well against the US dollar yesterday as traders bought the pound following an increase in employment.

Currency update, September 15 - sterling performs well as UK inflation beats expectations

Sterling performed well against the US dollar yesterday as UK inflation beat expectations and helped eased concerns that the Bank of England would increase their programme of Quantitative Easing.

Currency update, September 14 - sterling performs well against US dollar

Sterling performed well against the US dollar yesterday as positive Chinese data and new banking rules helped boost risk appetite amongst global investors.

Currency update, September 13: sterling falls again due to economic uncertainty

Sterling fell on Friday against the US dollar and euro after uncertainty regarding the UK economy lead market analysts to recommend selling sterling.