British Bank raises interest rate
London: The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, to 5.25 percent, to halt inflationary trends in the housing market amidst strong economic growth.

Meanwhile the European Central Bank, which earlier at a meeting in Frankfurt, left borrowing costs unchanged at a five-year high of 3.5 percent hinted it could increase rates as early as March to guard against rising prices if Europe's economy continued to expand.

After a two-year depression, growth has been picking up across Europe, led by Germany, the euro-zone's largest economy.
The British economy has moved ahead even more rapidly, fueled by a housing market that helped the economy expand 2.7 percent in the third quarter, against the year earlier period.
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Cisco sues Apple over iPhone
Cisco Systems, the world's largest networking equipment maker, has sued Apple, saying Apple's iPhone violates its trademark.

Cisco has moved the courts to stop Apple from using the name "iPhone," which Cisco has held a trademark since 2000 used to brand a line of its own internet-enabled phones that started selling last year and were launched three weeks ago.

Cisco said Apple approached the company several years ago seeking to use the name, and the two Silicon Valley tech giants have been negotiating ever since to come to a licensing agreement.

Cisco said the talks broke down just before Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, took to the stage on Tuesday at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo to introduce the multimedia device.

Apple's iPhone is a touch-screen-controlled cell phone device that plays music, surfs the web and delivers voicemail and e-mail.
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