News Headlines - 27 July 2012

▽BBC News - London 2012 Olympics launches with huge ceremony

The spectacular opening ceremony of the London Games, featuring Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, the Queen and James Bond, is well under way.

▽Mitt Romney's Olympics gaffe overshadows visit to London - Telegraph

Mitt Romney’s visit to Downing Street was overshadowed by a diplomatic spat on Thursday, after the Republican presidential candidate cast doubt over London’s readiness to host the Olympics.

▽Facebook's ￡100m Loss Sends Shares Plummeting

Facebook's share price has taken a massive tumble after it announced a net loss of $157m (￡100m) in its first earnings report since becoming a public company.

▽British Gas owner Centrica makes ￡1.9m profit a day - Telegraph

Centrica said profits at British Gas Residential, which has 15.8m energy accounts in the UK, lifted to ￡345m in the six months to June 30 after volumes were boosted by the cool start to the summer. But the UK's biggest energy supplier also benefited from higher prices because, while it dropped its standard electricity prices by 5pc in January, this did not cancel out a 16pc rise in August, when gas bills also went up by 18pc.

▽Nomura Shake-Up May Curtail Global Plans - WSJ.com

The management shake-up at Japan's Nomura Holdings Inc. could upset the global ambitions of the country's biggest investment bank, by removing the two architects in charge of implementing a bold international expansion.