Hollingsworth Daily Post

• The Swiss banking giant, UBS, has reported a net profit of 1.66bn Swiss francs ($1.65bn, £1.1bn) for the three months to the end of September.The number was boosted by a major one-off tax credit of 825m francs.It compares with a loss of 564m for the same three months last year.The bank - Switzerland's biggest - said it had suffered difficult market conditions, marked by low levels of client activity, and had also been hit by a rise in the franc.The Swiss currency has strengthened against both the dollar and the euro.UBS made a net profit of 2bn Swiss francs in the April-to-June quarter.
• The UK's economy grew at 0.8% between July and September, official figures show, suggesting the economy is recovering faster than expected.It follows 1.2% growth in the second quarter of the year, and is double the 0.4% expected by analysts.The gross domestic product (GDP) figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is only a first estimate, and may be revised.
• Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has attacked the 'absurd' level of risk taken on by banks in a speech.He called the banks' reliance on short-term debt to meet funding needs in 2008 an "accident waiting to happen".He said that, in future, banks must be forced to rely much more on equity to finance their risky activities.His comments raise the prospect that big UK banks will be required to hold significantly more equity than new international rules require.
• ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steel company, has said profits jumped 48% in the three months to the end of September compared with the same period a year earlier.Third-quarter net profit was $1.35bn (£858bn), up from $910m a year earlier.Sales increased by 30% against a year ago, to $21.04bn.But compared with the second quarter this year, earnings were down and the company warned of higher raw materials prices and slowing demand.ArcelorMittal's chairman, Lakshmi Mittal, said the business had not matched expectations and that he was uncertain about the final three months of the year.

BBC Business News 27 October 2010