Computer giant Dell has agreed to take over data storage firm 3Par after tabling an improved offer for the company. Dell says its new offer of $24.30 a share has been accepted by 3Par, following a battle for the company with rival Hewlett Packard (HP).

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Diageo, the world’s biggest drinks maker, saw pre-tax profits increase by 12% to £2.24bn in the year to the end of June. The firm, whose brands include Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, said developing markets had offset weakness in western Europe and the US.

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Air New Zealand has reported a fourfold increase in profits, leading signs of recovery in the airline industry. The flag carrier said net profits for the year to the end of June totalled 82m New Zealand dollars ($58m; £37m), up from NZ$21m in the previous year.

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New homes sales in the US fell sharply in July, according to official data, adding to concerns over the weakness of the US economic recovery. The rate of new home sales fell 12.4% in July from a month earlier to an annualised rate of 276,600 a year, the US Commerce Department

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Retail sales in July rose much faster than expected, with almost all non-food sectors showing strong growth. Sales volumes jumped 1.1% compared with June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Analysts had forecast a rise of just 0.4%.

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Iceland’s central bank has cut its key interest rate to 7% from 8%. A rate cut had been predicted after inflation eased and the country’s currency strengthened, although the reduction was larger than expected. Iceland’s interest rate hit a peak of 18% in October 2008 when the

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UK car production fell heavily in July, figures have shown, dropping 8.9% on the same month last year. Just over 98,000 cars were produced in the month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

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Shares in Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine maker, have fallen 23% after it reported a second-quarter loss and cut its sales forecast. Net losses in the second quarter were 119m euros ($153m; £98m), down from a profit of 43m euros a year ago.

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Standard Chartered has reported a 10% rise in first-half profit, helped by a reduction in its impairment provisions for bad loans. The bank announced a pre-tax profit of $3.12bn (£1.96bn) for the first six months of the year, up from the $2.84bn it made in the same period last year.

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Lloyds Banking Group has reported a return to profit for the first half of the year, largely due to a drop in the amount set aside to cover bad loans. Pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June came in at £1.6bn, compared with loss of £4bn in the same period a [...]

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