Hollingsworth Daily Post

• Profit figures from Apple soared past Wall Street forecasts, boosted by sales of Mac computers.
  Apple's "phenomenal" quarterly figures will relieve recent concerns.The company reported net income for the three months to 26 June of $3.25bn (£2.1bn), or $3.51 a share, up from $1.83bn for the quarter last year.Analysts were expecting earnings of about $3.11 a share.


• BP is to sell assets in Texas, Canada and Egypt, to part-fund the clean-up cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.The oil giant said it had reached a $7bn (£4.6bn) deal with US-based oil production firm Apache Corp.


• The EU is to challenge a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that it paid illegal subsidies to aircraft giant Airbus.The US lodged a complaint with the WTO six years ago, but the decision was only made public last month.


• SSL International, the maker of Durex condoms, is set to be sold to Reckitt Benckiser - the firm behind Cillit Bang cleaner and Finish dishwasher tablets.The two companies have agreed a deal that values SSL, which also makes Scholl footcare products, at £2.54bn.


• Mining giant BHP Billiton saw output continue to rise in the three months to June, but fears a slowdown in China.Iron ore production jumped 16% from the same period last year, bringing total output for the last 12 months to a record 125m tons.


• A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has called again for a rise in interest rates.Minutes from the MPC's July meeting show Andrew Sentance voted to lift the Bank rate to 0.75% from the record low of 0.5%, citing stubborn inflation.

BBC Business News 21st July 2010