The U.K. late Friday saw its triple-A credit rating from Moody's chopped one notch to Aa1. The news isn't as bad as it might have been: importantly, Moody's has assigned a stable outlook. But it is a political blow for Chancellor George Osborne and probably means the slide in sterling and rise in gilt yields that is under way will continue, The Wall Street Journal Heard on the Street blog reported.

Axminster Carpets, the manufacturer whose luxury carpets have graced Britain's stately homes and palaces since the eighteenth century, is calling in the administrators, joining a growing list of businesses seeking rescue to avoid collapse, Reuters reported. The 250-year old company, which employs around 400 people, said on Wednesday it would continue to trade while it explores all potential restructuring operations. Axminster was named after the hometown of its founder Thomas Whitty, who started making carpets in 1755.

The government stepped up its campaign against companies paying less than their fair share of tax when it announced details on Thursday of new rules that may bar corporate tax dodgers from competing for public sector contracts, Reuters reported. Companies bidding for government contracts will have to provide details of their tax compliance history, including tax returns that have been judged incorrect, under the draft new rules. "The government is clear that aggressive tax avoidance is totally unacceptable," Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the treasury, said in a statement.

The U.K.'s opposition Labour Party said Thursday it would introduce a levy on homes worth more than £2 million ($3.1 million) and use the money raised to cut income tax for low earners if it was in power now, backing a tax on property that has divided the governing coalition, The Wall Street Journal reported. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats have long championed a "mansion tax" on houses worth more than £2 million.

British fashion retailer Republic became the latest casualty of the economic downturn on Wednesday, seeking protection from creditors and putting around 2,500 jobs at risk, Reuters reported. The firm, which operates 121 stores across the UK with a stronger presence in the north of the country, has appointed administrators Ernst & Young to sell the business while it continues to trade. Republic is owned by private equity firm TPG. Ernst & Young said the retailer had been hit by poor autumn trading and a rapid decline in sales in late January.

Britain's plan to safeguard retail banking is a far better idea than the U.S. approach of forcing banks to hive off speculative trading, the Bank of England's next governor told MPs, Reuters reported. Mark Carney is to take up the reins in July, three months after the central bank becomes Britain's main regulator for lenders. In the wake of the financial crisis, regulators are introducing measures to shield the deposit-taking business of big banks from high-risk practices, reducing the prospect of a big failure that could destabilise markets and force a government bailout.

A complex restructuring plan for Punch Taverns, the debt-laden landlord group that owns almost one in 10 British pubs, is likely to face criticism from senior bond holders who doubt the company's claims that it will create a "sustainable capital structure", The Guardian reported.

British banks that fail to shield their day-to-day banking from risky investment activities could be broken up, Chancellor George Osborne said on Monday, bowing to political pressure to come down harder on reckless lenders, Reuters reported. European countries are retooling their financial systems to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crash, trying to strike a balance between popular calls for banks to be reined in and warnings that too tight a leash will choke off recovery.

Big-name London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses, Reuters reported. Italy's third-biggest bank is under investigation for an opaque series of derivatives and structured finance contracts between 2007 and 2009 that could cost it 720 million euros.

George Osborne has told Royal Bank of Scotland that it must meet its fine to US authorities over the Libor scandal – estimated to be in the region of £300m – from past, present and future bonuses, the Financial Times reported. RBS, which is 82 per cent taxpayer-owned, will discover the extent of its fines next week in a settlement with US regulators and the Financial Services Authority. Estimates of the total fines to US and UK authorities range from £400m-£500m.