Overall game sales slipped nearly 10 per cent year-on-year in March, as per stats released by research firm NPD Group.

Gamers spent nearly $993 on gaming hardware, software and accessories during last month, as compared with $1.1 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Taking used, rental as well as digital sales into account, the industry raked in an estimated $1.9 billion during last month.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung will dodge the typical seasonal downturn and grab nearly 35 per cent of the global smartphone market in the March quarter, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue.

In a fresh research note, Sue wrote that the South Korean firm could sell around 70 million Galaxy S4 smartphones this year, including as many as 10 million units during the first month of the phone's availability.

The analyst added that Samsung's smartphone market share would be significantly larger than that of its biggest rival - Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple.

Average price of gasoline in the United States remained on the decline over the past week and now average over 20 cents per gallon cheaper year on year, according to latest Lundberg Survey.

The average price of regular gasoline across the continental United States slipped 3 cents over the past two weeks, bringing it down to $3.71 a gallon. More precisely, gasoline prices averaged at $3.7074 a gallon on March 22, as compared with $3.7394 a gallon on March 8.

Over the past four-week period, gasoline prices slipped 8.76 cents year on year.

Heath Hall, the most expensive home for sale in Britain, has become cheaper by a whopping £35 million, but it still costs £65 million.

Property tycoon Andreas Panayiotou, the owner of the 14-bedroom Heath Hall mansion, had put it on the market in the year 2011 with a guide price of £100 million.

But a lack of interest in the mansion forced Mr. Panayiotou to drop the asking price to a more realistic £65 million.

The price cut is enough to purchase a 6-bedroom Georgian terrace in up-market Belgravia or as many as 215 "average" homes in the country that cost £162,000 each.

Home Retail Group (HRG) on Thursday upgraded its full-year profit forecast, thanks to continued sales growth at its Argos chain.

Raising its full-year profit forecast for the second time since January, the group said that it expected to pocket £90 million in the soon-to-be-ended year.

The group's Argos chain reported an increase of 5.2 per cent in underlying sales over the eight-week to March 2. The increase in sales was mainly driven by a robust demand for tablet computers, fridges and freezers.

British estate agent Countrywide Holdings expects it's planned IPO to value it at up to £750 million, two people familiar with developments at the company said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the sources said that Countrywide has priced its share for the sale in the range of 260 pence to 350 pence apiece, which would give the company a valuation in the range of £600 million to £750 million.

From the offering of new shares, the company aims to raise £200 million. The proceeds will be used to cut the company's debt pile and grow the business.

Chancellor George Osborne will reportedly try to convince his EU counterparts to make a relaxation in the European Parliament's strict proposals to curb bankers' bonuses.

The European Union's 27 finance ministers are all set to meet in Brussels take a decision on the matter on Tuesday.

The European Union's Economic and Financial Affairs Council is expected to give approval to previous week's proposals, which include limiting bankers' bonuses to 100 per cent of their annual salaries or to 200 per cent in case shareholders endorse.

Manufacturing activity in the UK dropped unexpectedly in February, giving a major set-back to hopes that the country can return to growth in the next few months.

The recently published Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the UK showed that manufacturing activity in the country dropped from 50.2 in January to 47.9 in February, well below the reading of 50 that separates growth from contraction.

William Hill bookie's business could reach £5 billion over the next five years, according to the bookmark service's chief executive Ralph Topping.

Topping predicted the huge increase in the company's business in the coming years after it spent £424 million to take full control of its online operation.

William Hill acquired 29 per cent stake in software firm Playtech, which will give it a freer hand to make investment in the online business worth around £1.5 billion. William Hill is presently worth £2.9 billion.

Despite higher taxes and lower sales, British American Tobacco (BAT) enjoyed an increase of 15 per cent in pre-tax profit to £5.6 billion in 2012.

British American Tobacco, the second-biggest listed tobacco company of the world, offset the adverse effects of higher taxes and lower sales by hiking prices as well as boosting volumes of its four flagship brands: Dunhill, Kent, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike.

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by Labour MP Margaret Hodge has accused the government's Department for Transport of making fundamental mistakes in handling of the West Coast Main Line franchise deal.

The committee argued that the department's failing to learn from its previous failures would cost taxpayers at least £50 million.

The Pentagon on Friday suspended all test flights of its new F-35 fighter jets after discovering a defect in the engine of one of the jets.

The Pentagon office said a crack was discovered in the turbine blade in the engine of a test plane at California's Edwards Air Force Base on Tuesday.

The defected blade was shipped to engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney's Connecticut plant so that the cause of the crack could be caught. Matthew C. Bates, a spokesperson for the engine manufacturer, claimed that none of the other F-35 jets had suffered any cracks.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday slashed the U. K.'s long-held `AAA' credit rating by one notch, citing increasing debt burden and apathetic growth outlook over the coming years.

The global ratings agency lowered the country's domestic as well as foreign-currency bond rating by one notch to AA1 and also changed its outlook to stable.

Defence giant BAE Systems has issued a warning that its profits would continue to remain under pressure due to cuts in defence budgets in the US and the UK.

For the last year, BAE announced pre-tax profits of £1.4 billion, down from £1.5 billion from the previous year. Revenues slipped 7 per cent, from £19.2 billion to £17.8 billion.

Underlying earnings before interest, taxation & amortization (EBITA) slipped from £2.02 billion in 2011 to £1.9 billion in 2012.

After hitting a five-year intraday high of 6,384 on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 struggled to gain on Friday.

Miners Randgold and Fresnillo were the biggest losers. Stocks in Randgold and Fresnillo slipped 3.6 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively, after Citigroup recommended selling on both of the stocks.

On the other hand, Anglo American was among the top gainers. Its shares gained 2 per cent after it announced better-than-expected quarterly results and hiked dividend to encourage investors.