Business news and markets: live 10.20 Penguin has become the latest publishing house to settle with EU regulators over a long-running investigation into e-book deals brokered with Apple imposing minimum pricing on Amazon and other retailers. The publisher has dropped the deal with the Californian tech giant, which included clauses barring rival retailers from selling e-books more cheaply than Apple. EU regulators were concerned that such a deal would hamper the e-book market and impose higher prices on consumers. The Commission will make a final decision on Penguin's offer next month. 10.00 GlaxoSmithKline has denied it breached competition law after the OFT accused it of unlawfully paying generic drug companies to delay release of pharmaceuticals which would have competed with one of the pharma giant's products. In a statement emailed to The Telegraph, a GSK spokesman said the allegations related to events that occurred between 2001 and 2004 that the European Commission had already investigated and "concluded its enquiry with no further action." He continued: GSK supports fair competition and we strongly believe that we acted within the law, as the holder of valid patents for paroxetine, in entering the agreements under investigation. These arrangements actually resulted in generic versions of paroxetine entering the market before GSK's patents had expired. We have cooperated fully with the Office of Fair Trading in this investigation, which covers activities that happened between 2001 and 2004. The paroxetine supply agreements under investigation were terminated in 2004. 09.45 The Financial Times reported this morning that individuals looking to declare bankruptcy in Ireland will be subject to strict lifestyle controls as they look for debt writedowns from their creditors. Homeowners applying for debt deals will have to give up luxuries such as satellite television, foreign holidays and private educations for their children under the new law, which limits a single person's expenditure to €247.04 a month for food, €57.31 for heating and €125.97 for "social inclusion and participation," an expenses category that includes tickets for sporting events and the cinema. 09.30 Back in London's stock market, testing equipment group Spectris is the stand-out faller and has dropped 12pc on the mid-cap FTSE 250 index. Dealers have pushed shares in the electrical engineering company lower after the group cautioned that revenue growth this year is set to come in below the company's expectations. The first quarter of the year has been slower than anticipated, in part because of "weaker customer confidence leading to deferral of orders and shipment delays." Here is more from Spectris on the reasons behind its disappointing start to 2013: This weakness was experienced across all of our major regions, all reporting segments and the majority of our end markets. Regionally, sales in Asia Pacific declined by 15pc on a like-for-like basis, North America declined 10pc and Europe declined 6pc in the quarter compared with the first quarter of last year. At this stage we have no reason to believe that any deferred orders will be cancelled and our opportunity pipeline remains strong and supportive of revenue growth for the full year, albeit at a more moderate rate than previously anticipated. Therefore, we have taken actions to reduce our cost base for 2013 by approximately £10 million which underpins our full year profit. Jo Reedman, analyst at N+1 Singer, reckons this could lead to jitters in other parts of the market: Clearly we expect Spectris" shares to weaken today, but we would also expect this to result in increasing nervousness regarding many of the other capital goods stocks, which remain on above average long term valuations. 09.15 The World Gold Council has accused speculative traders of causing the dramatic plummet in the bullion price, which hit a two-year low on Monday. Prices for the yellow metal are now recovering (see 08.04). World Gold Council chief executive Aram Shishmanian said: It has become increasingly clear over the course of the past week that the fall in the gold price was triggered by speculative traders operating in the futures markets. Their short-term view of generating a trading profit is in stark contrast to the views of long term investors in gold, as evidenced by the massive wave of physical gold buying that began over the weekend and accelerated following Monday's further decline. The surge in gold purchases is spanning markets from India and China to the US, Japan and Europe. Buyers are viewing this as an opportunity to purchase gold at prices not seen in the past couple of years. 09.07 There may be a one-day strike by Lufthansa staff at German airports on Monday. The German services sector union Verdi called for a walkout as it demanded a 5.2pc pay rise for the airline's 33,000 ground staff after management offered a 0.4-0.6pc increase over 12 months. 08.59 Personal Finance editor Andrew Oxlade reports that a key indicator on house price trends has turned positive for the first time since 2010, thanks to the Help to Buy scheme. Read his full piece here. 08.51 John Lewis sales retreated from their normally stormy pace last week. The department store saw revenues rise 6.9pc year-on-year in the week ending April 13, significantly down on the overall 11.9pc gain in the last three months. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, warns that a slowdown at John Lewis could signal wider tightening among squeezed consumers. The latest John Lewis sales performance is still decent and one that most retailers would die for, and it is hampered by a strong performance a year earlier. Nevertheless, the slowdown in John Lewis" sales growth fans concern that consumers may rein in their spending and hold back growth prospects over the coming months as their purchasing power is squeezed by higher consumer price inflation and low wage growth. Furthermore, there are signs in the latest data that employment is faltering. It must also be remembered that many households have faced an extended squeeze on their finances, so are still in a vulnerable position. Indeed, there is a need for extended deleveraging by many consumers. 08.26 It's the beleaguered mining sector, which has been under pressure all week in the wake of a sharp falls in commodities prices, that is leading the charge on the FTSE 100. Silver producer Fresnillo, which has been hit by the precious metals slump, has climbed 5.2pc, steelmaker and miner Evraz is up 4.2pc and troubled Kazakh digger Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation has advanced 4pc. 08.22 Chief business correspondent Louise Armitstead has sent out her daily City Briefing. Here's her round-up: The Office of Fair Trading has accused GlaxoSmithKline of paying three other companies to "delay effective competition" of a major drug in the UK. In a "statement of objections" released this morning, the OFT alleges that the FTSE100 drugs giant "concluded agreements which infringed competition law" with Alpharma, Generics UK and Norton Healthcare to delay the supply of the anti-depressant paroxetine. The OFT said its "provisional view is that these agreements included substantial payments from GSK to the generic companies in return for their commitment to delay their plans to supply paroxetine independently." We'll have the details and the reaction here. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Spring meetings officially open in Washington today - and it hasn't been the best start for Britain. Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, has said the UK's growth numbers are "not particularly good." Mark Carney, the soon-to-be Governor of the Bank of England, described the UK as one of the "crisis economies" being left behind by the US along with the eurozone and Japan. Global tax will be another big issue as the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) presents a report on closing evasion loop-holes around the world. It is expected to recommend a global information sharing system similar to the Fatca rules in the US that have been adapted and adopted by the UK and European countries. There will be a series of press briefings, we'll have all the latest on our live business blog here. William Hill has said group revenues jumped 15pc in the first quarter and operating profits rose 8pc. Anglo American has released a trading up date too ahead of its annual meeting today; Travis Perkins and M&C Saatchi have released their annual reports; and Euromoney has unveiled a £9.9m acquisition of an investor events business in Australia. Later in America, McDonald's is releasing its first quarter results for its 33,500 restaurants around the world. The Public Accounts Committee has published a report into Britain's Olympic legacy noting that although the games were "extraordinarily successful," the public sector still has lessons to learn in areas like ticket sales and venue security. Margaret Hodge, chairman of the PAC, has told the BBC's Today programme that she's concerned about the £2bn of Lottery money being returned in total and in time. The Bank of England is producing its lending report, including the Old Lady's assessment of lending to the economy in the first quarter. The Council of Mortgage Lenders is releasing its latest mortgage lending figures for March at 930am. The Institute of Directors quarterly economic poll has produced some polarized views. Nearly one in three IoD members reckons UK economic growth will be lower than the 0.6pc predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility; 26.6pc think it will be higher. Just over half, 52pc, are "somewhat positive" about George Osborne's latest Budget. Alan Howard, the found of Brevan Howard, tops The Sunday Times hedge fund rich list with an estimated wealth of £1.5bn. The full Rich List is out this weekend. And George Soros has not died, even though rumours abound after Reuters accidentally published the great investor's obituary. 08.12 The final trading session of the week is underway, with the FTSE 100 starting-off in positive territory and climbing 12 points in early trade. While investors will be hoping that after five consecutive days of falls, the blue-chip index will manage to hold onto its gains today, Ian Williams, a strategist at stockbroker Peel Hunt, did not have an overly optimistic message for dealers this morning: The technical indicators are looking decidedly shaky in the near-term, with even the S&P index in the US dipping below its 50-day moving average support level. Investors must be considering moving into capital preservation mode with the more difficult half of the year for equity markets looming at the end of April. 08.08 A vote of confidence for Slovenia from European Central Bank governing council member Erkki liikanen, who told economic magazine Talouselama that he was optimistic the country could deliver on reform plans, saying: Slovenia's banking sector is just about the size of the country's GDP, I have no doubt they can fix the problem. 08.04 Gold is continuing to recover after plummeting to a two-year low on Monday. It hit $1,424 per ounce earlier this morning following a steep rise in early exchange, and is currently trading at around $1,416 per ounce. 07.55 A quick look at the Asian markets. In Japan, markets edged up as traders snapped up shares on dips. The Nikkei closed up 0.73pc. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is still open and is up 1.57pc. China's Shanghai Composite Index, also still open, jumped 2.3pc. 07.45 GlaxoSmithKline has been accused by antitrust watchdog the Office of Fair Trading of acting to delay the introduction of generic versions of an antidepressant drug, paroxetine. The OFT alleged that the pharma giant concluded agreements with three generic drug companies to delay their release of products which would have competed with GSK's branded paroxetine produce, Seroxat - thus denying the NHS "significant cost savings." 07.30 Japan's radical monetary policy regime - unveiled last month - has been accepted by finance leaders in the G20, according to the country's finance minister Taro Aso. The Bank of Japan's move to double the money base over two years, which have already significantly devalued the yen, had drawn criticism from some corners that Japanese central bankers were intentionally driving down their own currency to gain a competitive advantage in export markets. Speaking to reporters after a dinner session of the G20 finance leaders on Thursday, Mr Aso said: Japan explained that its monetary policy is aimed at achieving price stability and economic recovery, and therefore in line with the G20 agreement in February. There was no objection to that at the meeting. New Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda unveiled a package of radical stimulus measures earlier this month. Photo: AP 07.10 The Telegraph business pages lead with incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney's warning that Britain is a 'crisis economy', grouping it with the eurozone and Japan in contrast to the US, which he said was pulling away. He also put pressure on Chancellor George Osborne by stressing that central banks cannot be relied to work alone to sustain growth. We also note that the "retirements" of Rich Ricci and Tom Kalaris marks the end of an era at Barclays. The two men represented the last vestiges of Bob Diamond's regime at the bank, having worked closely with the former chief executive at the investment bank. Cyprus' surprise parliamentary vote on the bail-out, which stirs fresh tensions in the EU over fears the deal could yet be overturned by rebellious Cypriot politicians, also makes our front page. 07.05 Now for a look at the morning's business pages. The Financial Times reports that George Osborne is bracing himself for a battle with the IMF over austerity. The Chancellor's aides told the FT that he plans to defend plan A "aggressively" when an IMF team arrives in London next month to make their annual assessment of the British economy. On Thursday Christine Lagarde, IMF chief, said the UK economy was "not good" as she hinted that the Fund would urge Osborne to ease austerity. It also reports that Dairy Crest will transfer 20 million kilograms of maturing cheese to its pension fund to help plug an £84m deficit. The dairy will give members first call on the £60m stockpile of maturing cheese. The Times leads with news that Legal & General's former chief executive left with £9.4m in pay, bonus and share awards. The Guardian leads on incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney branding the UK "a crisis economy." It also reports that the Church of England - which has £8bn invested in some of the world's biggest companies - has instructed its fund managers to vote down pay policies that award bosses more than 100pc their base pay in a bid to challenge the bonus culture. The Independent leads with news that miner BHP Billiton's incoming chief executive Andrew Mackenzie has cut his own salary by a quarter and ejected the three senior staff who were frontrunners for his new job. It also reports that India's highest court has given local tribal councils the final say on whether British miner Vedanta can proceed with a £1.1bn plan to dig for bauxite on their land. 07.00 Now for a look at the morning's papers. The Times leads with news that Ed Miliband is facing internal dissent amid claims safe seats in the European Parliament are being hived off for union-backed candidates. The Independent also splashes with news from the Labour Party- that the party's 2015 election will be fought on pledges to spend more than the Conservatives. The Guardian reports that an investment bubble in fossil fuels poses a major risk to the global economy. Citing a research paper by London School of Economics professor Nicholas Stern and think tank Carbon Tracker, it says a so-called "carbon bubble" resulting from the overvaluation of oil, goal and gas reserves has built up on investor bets that governments will remain inactive on climate change. But if countries stick to carbon pledges, at least two-thirds of these reserves must remain underground, making them unusable and financially worthless, which would lead to massive losses on the markets. 06.55 Good morning and welcome to our new daily business and markets live blog, your one stop shop for all the breaking business stories of the day.