Peter Voser, chief executive, says deep-water drilling has ‘important role to play in global energy supply’, as the Anglo-Dutch oil group announces a near-doubling in second-quarter profit to $4.53bn

Global Markets Overview: Risky assets are fighting to hold their level after a cautious but overall positive assessment of the US economy by the Federal Reserve

The UK prime minister will leave India without meeting Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party, in a blow to his efforts to forge a “special relationship” with New Delhi

Chris Viehbacher, left open the option of a $19bn takeover of US biotech company Genzyme as he unveiled second-quarter results for the French pharmaceutical group with earnings up nearly 8 per cent

New York-based banking group will sell a revamped set of accounts and credit cards, in the latest attempt to revive its North American unit

ConocoPhilips said it would sell its entire stake in Lukoil, bringing to a close its attempt to use the partnership with Russia’s second-biggest oil producer to develop business in the country

Amazon is aiming to take digital reading into the mainstream as it rolls out a new generation of its Kindle e-reader ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season

First major new piece of scientific research since the ‘climategate’ scandals

A federal judge blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s proposed new immigration law, mere hours before it was due to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama administration and human rights groups

US files published by WikiLeaks feature a series linking Osama bin Laden to suicide bombings, a plot to assassinate President Hamid Karzai and financial dealings with North Korea