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US President George Bush has not declared war on Texas just yet but he is sure going to war against Texas Hold 'Em. Last month two more businessmen linked to British online poker firms were rounded up on US soil, as the Justice Department escalates its 'crackdown' on what one Republican lawmaker called 'the evil scourge' of letting adult Americans gamble from home in their pyjamas. UK investors are paying the price. Most online gambling companies are listed in London and since Congress passed the law against them last summer, the industry has been plunged into crisis. Brussels is getting involved. European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has called the US actions 'protectionist' and said he may take the matter to the World Trade Organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

WILL the real Ben Bernanke stand up? It is a measure of how far President Bush's star has fallen in two months that he was applauded last week simply for appointing a competent and qualified individual to take over the Federal Reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

OIL surged to record highs yesterday, leaping $1.21 to $43.05 a barrel due to the deepening crisis at Russian export giant Yukos. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SHELL delivered yet another blow to investors yesterday when it agreed to pay a thumping £83m in fines to British and American regulators. The £17m UK penalty is the biggest ever levied by the Financial Services Authority. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE best is ahead of us, declares BP boss Lord Browne. Following big long-term investments in Russia and elsewhere, he predicts strong production growth from the second half 'and continuing for many years'. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

VODAFONE directors awarded themselves another £11m in bonuses last night -- just hours after facing down private shareholder outrage over board-room windfalls. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

EUROTUNNEL plunged to a fresh low since April's boardroom coup as the Channel Tunnel operator revealed its half-year cash burn trebled to £31m. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

IN Spanish banking circles he is known as El Caudillo -- 'the strongman.' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

HIGH-ROLLING gamblers cleaned up at Crockford's casino in Mayfair, west London, last year. They took an extra £14m off the house at the roulette tables, all but wiping out the profits and offsetting all the gains across the rest of parent company Stanley Leisure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SIR Richard Branson insists that this week's £1bn Virgin Mobile float, which should leave him pocketing at least £400m in cash, is still going ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

FRESH from last week's victory over predator Philip Green, Marks & Spencer chairman Paul Myners is considering staying in his new job permanently. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]