British firms are paying lesser dividends in the first quarter than the same period one year prior to this one.

UK companies paid out 13.6bn Pounds in dividends during the first three months of 2010. Heavyweights dropping their payouts were a chief factor in the drop, with bank HSBC cutting 670m Pounds, and oil giants BP and Shell paying out 330m Pounds less between them.

Merck & Co. said on Friday that its proceeds will be impacted unconstructively by about $170 million throughout the existing financial year as a result of health-care legislation, and the company anticipated a negative impact of up to $350 million in the subsequent year.

The first quarter of 2010 has been a boon to Novartis. The company reports profits, which can be attributed to an amalgamation of emerging-market exposure and efficient cost-cutting measures. Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate has outdone expectations by registering an increase of 18% rise in first-quarter sales.

A gigantic ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano created further air travel mayhem in the European region on Friday. The degree of chaos is such, which had not been seen ever since September 11 attacks. Due to this volcanic ash cloud, a whole lot of passengers had been left helpless and marooned.

UBS, the Swiss banking giant which was recently more than plague with problems, seems will soon be coming back to profits. At least that is what the bank itself is expecting. In a recent statement, UBS shared it is now expecting a first quarter profit of a minimum of 2.5 Billion Swiss Francs, or USD 2.36 Billion.

Statistics reveal that the number of newly registered cars in the UK has increased for the ninth successive month. There has been a rise of 26.6% in March in comparison with the sales of cars during the same period last year.

Along with other three firms, Credit Suisse has been ordered to pay a fine of 1.75 million pounds after it failed to give correct transactions to the Financial Services Authority in time.

Market manufacturer, Getco Europe Limited has been fined 1.4 million Pounds and agency stockbroker, Instinet Europe Limited has been fined 1.05 million Pounds.

The recession had hurt just about everyone, but the financial industry had been particularly pulled down. But then again, it saw high times as well. Insurers, however, did not seem to be too happy during recession as they ended up paying for most of the things, without getting anything in return.

Everyone is sending in a very shocked reaction to one of the newest developments in the business world, and for all the right reason! Wynn Resorts has announced, on Thursday, that it would be dropping its bid to rescue the struggling Philadelphia based waterfront casino project. The project has now been termed as "inappropriate" for the firm.

The latest report released by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has hinted that over the coming few months, the recovery of the G7 nations would be slow, which means that the major economies of the world would still be struggling with the after-effects of the recession.