England

LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) has been suspended from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for two years over what the ABPI on Thursday described as "serious breaches" of its code of practice.

ABPI's statement linked to a website of a self-regulatory body run by the association that pointed to a complaint alleging that Novo Nordisk had sponsored courses on weight management on LinkedIn for health professionals, without making clear the company's involvement.

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Binance is halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, a month after the world's largest crypto exchange ceased dollar transfers.

Binance has been informed by its partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, that it would halt its services from May 22, the spokesperson said, impacting all Binance customers.

Sterling transfers for new users were stopped on Monday, it said.

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Global shares fell for a sixth day on Tuesday as a brewing U.S. banking crisis prompted investors to downgrade their expectations for interest rate hikes, even ahead of key inflation data later in the day.

As recently as a week ago, investors were just recovering from a reality-check that prompted many to assume that rates around the world were likely to head much higher and stay there for longer than previously expected.

BARNSLEY, England, March 14 (Reuters) - Frustrated with England's education system, Simon Biltcliffe spends a lot of time training new hires at his marketing firm in the "soft skills" he and many employers say the country's sluggish economy badly needs.

Finding that new starters often struggle to think on their feet, he sets them workplace challenges to learn to solve problems at pace and in teams. Many don't adapt, leading to high attrition after three- and six-month reviews.

LONDON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- British stocks plunged on Monday, and the pound climbed against the U.S. dollar as the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse spooked financial markets and raised expectations that U.S. rate hikes would slow down.

The FTSE 100 index, the leading benchmark for blue chip companies listed in the United Kingdom (UK), ended the session down 2.58 percent, or 199.72 points, at 7,548.63. Standard Chartered and Barclays were among the worst performers.

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Britain approved a sharp increase in exports of submarine parts and technology last year to Taiwan as it upgrades its naval forces, a move that could impact British ties with China.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared equitably with the world, at least 1.3 million lives could have been saved in the first year of the rollout, or one preventable death every 24 seconds, an open letter said on Saturday.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Monday to increase U.K. military funding by 5 billion pounds ($6 billion) over the next two years in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the “epoch-defining challenge” posed by China.

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the British government was working to find a solution to limit the potential hit to companies resulting from the failure of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and its UK subsidiary.

Sunak said he understood "the anxiety and the concerns customers of the bank have", in comments made to reporters flying with him to the United States. He and the government were "making sure we can work to find a solution that secures people's operational liquidity and cash-flow needs", he said.

LONDON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Had COVID-19 vaccines been shared equitably with the world, at least 1.3 million lives could have been saved in the first year of the rollout, or one preventable death every 24 seconds, an open letter said on Saturday.