B&B profits up 48 per cent - FINANCIAL services group Bradford and Bingley has unveiled a bumper payday for shareholders after posting a 48 per cent rise in pre-tax profits.

The former building society said it would return £150m to shareholders through a share buy-back programme in the next 18 months. It has improved its total dividend by 20 per cent to 13p. Chief executive Christopher Rodrigues said the company was able to make the payments because its strategy did not rely on a large amount of capital. Pre-tax profits for the year to the end of December 31 rose to £234.4m from £158.7m in 2000. Underlying profits were up 9.4 per cent at a record £253.1m.

DEFICIT WIDENS: Britain's trade deficit soared to a record £33.6bn last year, as the slowdown in world trade and tough competition hurt exports, new figures have shown. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the deficit for trade in goods in 2001 widened from the previous year's £30bn, and included a record deficit with non-EU countries, and a wider deficit with EU countries.

BRANSON BOOST: The UK aerospace industry received a boost as Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic confirmed it would be ordering £1.35bn worth of new aircraft. Virgin is taking ten Airbus A340-600s, whose wings are made by UK company BAE Systems and which will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines. Virgin is the launch customer for the new 319-seat long-haul aircraft.

DEBT MOUNTS: Consumers continued to take on more debt during January, with lending to individuals rising at a record rate. The British Bankers' Association said individuals borrowed £4.93bn last month, compared with £4.67bn in December. But while other personal lending rose by £815m (£742m in December) credit card spending fell. During January, borrowing on plastic rose by £128m, down from £263m in December.

RECORD YEAR: Vanish-to-Harpic firm Reckitt Benckiser has celebrated strong full-year figures after gaining market share in a number of key product areas. The world's largest maker of household cleaning goods said it had bettered its own targets with operating profits up 16 per cent at a record £525m.