UKÔÇÖs ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification The UK government has announced a ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.The London to Swansea route will be electrified over the next eight years at a cost of ┬ú1 billion, as will lines between Liverpool and Manchester at a cost of ┬ú100 million.The upgrade is in line with the governmentÔÇÖs commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport by 14 per cent by 2020.Only around one third of the UKÔÇÖs 20,000-mile rail network is currently electrified, compared with 100 per cent in Switzer

The UK government has announced a ┬ú1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.  The London to Swansea route will be electrified over the next eight years at a cost of ┬ú1 billion, as will lines between Liverpool and Manchester at a cost of ┬ú100 million. Only around one third of the UKÔÇÖs rail network is currently electrified, compared with 100 per cent in Switzerland, 77 per cent in Sweden and 69 per cent in Italy.  Electric trains are lighter and more energy-efficient, making them around 35 per cent cheaper to operate.

The UK government has announced a £1.1 billion rail electrification programme for two of its major lines.

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US-based automotive firm General Motors (GM) has confirmed it has received three final offers for majority stakes in its European Opel unit. The bidders are Canadian car parts maker Magna, Belgian-based investment firm RHJ International and China's state-owned Beijing Automotive Industries Holding Co (BAIC). ┬á Canadian Magna remains the favourite to buy a majority stake in Opel, having made last-minute alterations to its bid by diluting its Russian backer Sberbank's stake to 27.5 per cent and upping its original 20 per cent stake to the same amount.

ChinaÔÇÖs sovereign wealth fund has bought 1.1 per cent of UK alcoholic drinks firm Diageo, it was reported today. In a move to diversify its investments, China Investment Corporation (CIC) now has a stake in the drinks maker worth ┬ú221 million. CIC has recently been making investments outside the financial sector, including some in mining and property.

New York-based bank CIT Group has approved a $3 billion rescue loan from major bondholders in order to avoid bankruptcy.  The loan is designed to give the company, which specializes in lending to small and mid-sized businesses, more time to restructure some of its debt payments. The Obama administration had said on Wednesday it would not offer a bailout to CIT. At least six large CIT bondholders, including Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco), are said to be financing the rescue loan.

South African President Jacob Zuma has appointed Gill Marcus to the position of governor at the South African Reserve Bank, to take over from Tito Mboweni when his term expires in August. Marcus is likely to officially take over in November, when Mboweni, who was initially appointed for a third five-year term, has said he will leave.  Johannesburg-born Marcus was deputy minister of finance before becoming deputy governor at the central bank from 1999 to 2004. She is currently chair of South AfricaÔÇÖs largest banking group, Absa, and has also been an ANC spokeswoman.

Japanese car giant Nissan is expected to announce a new generation of electric cars to be built at its Sunderland plant that could save at least 4,000 jobs.┬á  A joint announcement is expected from Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who is due to visit the plant today, and NissanÔÇÖs vice president Trevor Mann. Lord Mandelson is expected to tell some of the factoryÔÇÖs 4,200 workers of the creation of a "low-carbon economic area" in the North East of the country. In April, the European Investment Bank approved funding totaling hundreds of millions of pounds for NissanÔÇÖ