Money news

B&B ups rights issue size
Bradford & Bingley on Friday increased its rights issue to 400 million pounds after U.S. investor TPG Capital pulled out of buying a stake as concern deepened about the bank's business plan. French bank body fines SocGen over Kerviel
France's Banking Commission on Friday fined Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> 4 million euros (3.2 million pounds) for serious breaches in internal controls revealed by the French bank's 4.9 billion euro rogue trading loss. FTSE ends lower as banks and oil weigh
The blue-chip index ended lower on Friday during a relatively quiet session as banking stocks slipped following a bearish Goldman Sachs note and oil companies tracked softer crude prices. EU opens investigation of Rio-BHP deal
The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation on Friday into BHP Billiton's <BHP.AX><BLT.L> $170 billion (85.7 billion pound) unsolicited bid for rival miner Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, with prices of iron ore already soaring. M&S's Rose set for showdown
Marks and Spencer <MKS.L> boss Stuart Rose, lauded for reviving the landmark retailer just a year ago, is battling to save his job after a big profit warning and bungled management changes. What the Bank has to weigh up next week
The Bank of England looks set to hold interest rates steady for the third month running next week as policymakers seem trapped between high inflation on one side and sharply slowing growth on the other. Barratt to cut around 1,000 jobs
House builder Barratt Developments <BDEV.L> plans to cut around 1,000 jobs as it pushes for cost cuts to endure a rapidly worsening housing market, it said on Friday. Australia's Origin rejects BG Group bid
Australia's Origin Energy <ORG.AX> urged shareholders on Friday to reject a $13.1 billion (6.6 billion pound) bid from gas company BG Group <BG.L>, as speculation grew over whether BG would raise its offer. John Lewis adds to retail gloom as M&S falls again
Retailer John Lewis <JLP.UL> reported a big drop in weekly sales at its department stores and slower growth at its upmarket supermarkets, providing further evidence of a downturn in consumer spending. BSkyB mulls $4 billion bid for Spain's Digital Plus
LONDON/MADRID (Reuters) - Pay-TV firm BSkyB <BSY.L> is considering a bid of more than 2.5 billion euros (2 billion pounds) for Spanish pay-TV platform Digital+, the Financial Times said on Friday.

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