Jamie Dunkley

London - The RSA Insurance chief executive Stephen Hester on Thursday challenged its Swiss suitor Zurich to make a bid for the troubled FTSE 100 giant. Zurich has admitted it is interested in buying RSA, but so far there have been no formal talks ahead of a possible £5.5bn deal. Under UK takeover rules, Zurich has until 25 August to make an offer and Hester said: “They have put themselves in a 'put up or shut up' situation ...

London - They have fought long-running legal battles with Argentina, Peru and Zambia, and now want Puerto Rico to sack teachers and close down schools to pay back debt. It's fair to say that vulture funds are the scourge of impoverished countries, seemingly hell-bent on exploiting economic weakness across the globe.

London - The European plane maker Airbus edged out its US rival Boeing in the billion-dollar race to win the most commercial business at the biennial Paris Air Show. Four days of deal-making came to a head on Thursday when the two industrial giants unveiled their share of a combined $107bn (£67bn) of new orders. Airbus said it had won $57bn of business for 421 aircraft including 124 firm orders, worth $16.3bn, and commitments for 297 aircraft worth $40.7bn.