Britain had an 8 billion-pound ($13.2 billion) budget deficit in July, the largest for the month since records began in 1993, as the recession ravaged tax revenue and the cost of unemployment benefits surged, Bloomberg reported. The shortfall compared with a surplus of 5.2 billion pounds a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. It came in a month when the Treasury usually gets a boost from quarterly tax payments. Britain last had a deficit in July in 1996. The U.K.

Details of a landmark settlement of the U.S. tax case against Swiss bank UBS are expected this week, which should help the bank restore its image and open the way for the Swiss state to sell its UBS stake. The deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday after the first regular meeting of the Swiss cabinet following the summer recess, industry insiders said. The world's second-largest wealth manager will hand over details of about 5,000 client accounts, sources have said, after the signing of a deal agreed last week to end a dispute in which U.S.

Eastern Europe’s severe recession sent retail sales down an outsized 29 percent in Latvia in June compared to a year ago, 20 percent in Lithuania, 17.8 percent in Romania, and 10.5 percent in Bulgaria. The region is getting a cold shower after years of heady growth fueled by cheap bank loans and the euphoria of EU membership in 2004, The Associated Press reported. Latvia, a country of 2.3 million, remains a basket case.

World stock markets have fallen despite Japan becoming the latest country to officially come out of recession, the BBC reported. Analysts say that investors are worried that they may have been too quick to predict an economic rebound during recent rallies. Leading Wall Street markets fell about 2% lower after similar losses in the UK, mainland Europe and bigger drops in Asian markets. "There is now a realisation that coming out of a recession is one thing, but building a recovery is another," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

The recession has deflated Russia's oil-fueled construction boom, delaying plans to turn Moscow into a high-rise Dubai of the East, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sudden slump in oil and commodity prices ended eight straight years of economic growth. It also clipped property developers' wings. The $15 billion Moscow-City business district is one of the downturn's most eye-catching victims. Dreamt up as a rival to New York's Manhattan or London's Canary Wharf, the district was a showcase development the Kremlin hoped would reflect Russia's rising clout on the world stage.

Bratislava Airport reported that all its past due claims against Slovak low-cost airline SkyEurope Airlines, unpaid on June 22, have been submitted to the court supervising the airline’s restructuring process, The Slovak Spectator reported. On June 22, the Bratislava-based airline was granted protection from creditors, the SITA newswire wrote. Airport spokeswoman Dana Madunická informed SITA that SkyEurope has been settling its obligations within the regime of protection against creditors.

Earlier this year, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila C. Bair had a discreet visit from a Spanish banker, The Wall Street Journal reported. Francisco González, chairman and chief executive of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, the second-largest bank in Spain by stock-market value after Banco Santander SA, wanted to make sure the FDIC kept him in mind when selling assets the agency is getting from failed U.S. banks, according to people familiar with the meeting.

Icelandic politicians took a step on Saturday towards passing a controversial bill that will guarantee repayment of funds lost by British and Dutch savers in accounts of collapsed Landsbanki, a member of parliament said, Reuters reported. The parliament's budget committee agreed on a revised version of the so-called Icesave bill and is ready to put it before parliament for voting next week, said Thor Saari, who represents opposition party. the Civic Movement, in the committee.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is to meet with Icelandic investigators in London next month as Reykjavik seeks international help to discover whether criminal wrongdoing played a role in bringing down Iceland’s banking sector, the Financial Times reported. The talks signal increasing co-operation between the UK and Iceland over the corruption probe, even as tensions flare between the two countries over a disputed deal to repay billions of pounds lost by British savers in Icelandic banks.

French construction firm Vinci SA has bought British builder Haymills Group in a "prepack" administration deal, administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Thursday, Reuters reported. The privately-owned company was put up for sale after facing difficulties meeting its financial obligations and incurring losses from a Gibraltar subsidiary, PwC's Stephen Oldfield said. Vinci's acquisition of Haymills was a "prime example of when a prepack sale can be the best option", PwC's Oldfield said.