Hollingsworth Daily Post

• The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its forecast for eurozone growth for this year and next year.ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the upgrade reflected the "stronger-than-expected rebound" in the zone's economy.He forecast GDP growth of between 1.4% and 1.8% for this year, and between 0.5% and 2.3% next year.Earlier, the ECB kept eurozone interest rates on hold at 1%, as had been expected.


• The governor of Afghanistan's central bank has told the BBC he will not allow the country's largest commercial bank to collapse.His comments follow the resignation of the top two executives of Kabul Bank, amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement.Their departure has prompted crowds of account-holders to converge on the bank to withdraw their money.The bank is crucial as it handles payments to government workers.


• Spanish clothing retailer Zara has opened its new online store in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the UK.The group already sells a home range online, but its revamped website will offer fashion lines which have only been available in its stores until now.The push into cyberspace is seen as a defensive move that comes amid fears of a decline in High Street spending.H&M will follow in the next fortnight; Gap began online sales for the first time outside the US last month.Consumer confidence is waning and many fear a further economic slowdown. Online fashion sales, meanwhile, are proving resilient.


• Samsung has become the latest challenger to enter the tablet computer battle, unveiling its Galaxy Tab at the IFA conference in Berlin.The device will run on Google's Android operating system, with a capacity of 16 or 32Gb, expandable by 32Gb more.It weighs 380g (14oz), and has an 18cm (7in) screen - smaller and lighter than its principal rival the iPad.Vodafone has announced that it will distribute the device in European markets including the UK in October.The tablet can connect via 3G networks, as well as wi-fi and Bluetooth.


• Apple has launched a social network as part of the latest version of its iTunes software.Ping, as it is known, allows users to build networks of friends and professional musicians, in a similar way to services such as Twitter.The service also builds playlists based on what friends are listening to.
  Analysts said it represents a challenge to existing music-based social networks such as MySpace."It's a social network all about music," said Mr Jobs, launching the application at an event in San Francisco.


• Pernod Ricard, the French drinks giant, says it will embark on a marketing campaign to encourage people to drink more of its products.The company, the second-largest spirits group after Diageo, saw net profit flat for the year.The company made 951m euros (£792m, $1.2bn), compared with 954m euros the year before.Pernod Ricard, whose brands include Absolut Vodka, says it will concentrate on cutting debt and boosting sales.Consumers in Spain, Greece and Ireland are shying away from premium priced brands as the economic downturn has hit hard in these countries.


• Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has reported a threefold surge in profits for the first three months of the year, as the cold winter boosted demand.Net profit came in at 325bn roubles ($10.6bn; £6.9bn), compared with 103.7bn roubles a year earlier.Sales volumes to Europe rose by 37%, which helped to offset a fall in gas prices of 36%, boosting overall revenue to 957bn roubles.Gazprom supplies about one quarter of all Europe's gas needs.

BBC Business News 2nd September 2010