Retailers in the UK are feeling more confident about expanding internationally, with two-thirds (65%) planning to increase international sales over the next 12 months. This is up from the previous year, when just 39% said it was a goal for their business. The study, from Royal Mail, also found that over four fifths (84%) plan to target new countries they do not currently sell to, with the U.S. topping the list as the economy with most opportunities.

Research conducted by partnership marketing agency Cherry London has revealed that women, if adequately rewarded, are more likely to stay loyal to a brand than men. Of the 1000 adults surveyed, 68% of women said that getting rewards from a brand makes them stay longer and not switch to other brands, versus 53% of men. The survey also revealed that over half said they wanted to see a brand "invest heavily" in rewarding them for their custom (versus 42% who said they were happy with "a little" investment).

Sky is expected to bring forward the launch of its next-generation set-top box to this spring to help counter the threat from BT's exclusive deal to show European football. New hardware and services will be offered as an incentive for households to sign up to new pay-TV and broadband contracts before BT's monopoly on Champions League matches kicks in next season, industry sources said. Sky is also likely to charge more for the premium service. The set-top box will be capable of showing ultra-high-definition 4K pictures.

Sky Sports will pay more than GBP10 million a year to snatch exclusive live rights for Open Championship golf from the BBC. The contract will be announced by the sport's ruling body, the R&A, early this week and will end the BBC's 59-year ownership of the rights after the next tournament at St Andrews in July. The BBC are likely to keep a highlights deal but that is a consolation prize. They have been resigned to losing The Open to Sky for some time and prioritised saving Match of the Day, for which they will pay GBP204m.

The morale of the British consumer hit a five-month high in January in what will be a "boost to the government," according to the latest UK consumer index figures from GfK. The latest figures show that propensity to make a big purchase increased by six points in January to +6 -- a rate 15 points higher than January 2014 and the highest level since June 2007; before the recession made its impact. The survey's headline index rose to +1 in January, matching the highs hit in mid-2014.

Freesat has added a further 24,000 homes to its market penetration over the fourth quarter, taking its total tally to 1.9m. The satellite television provider has been bolstered by uptake of its Freetime operating platform, which debuted in 2012 and now represents 50 per cent of all set-top box sales. It has also benefitted from an expansion of services which sees it launch on-demand children's service, Hopster Kids TV and an Amazon kindle app.

London's famous Boris Bike cycle-hire scheme could soon be switching from Barclays blue to Coca-Cola or Santander red after the soft drink and banking giants emerged as the sole contenders for a GBP40m sponsorship contract. The pair had been shortlisted alongside British car brand Jaguar Land Rover, which later pulled out of the race, leaving its red-liveried rivals to duke it out for the prize. An announcement on the winner is expected to be made later this month, ending Barclays' five-year association with the project.

A new army unit is to be established to use social media and psychology training in a bid to fight in "the Information age" The 77th Brigade -- formerly known as the Chindits who fought in Burma during World War Two and disbanded 70 years ago -- will be a force of between 1,500 and 2,000 troops trained to use "non-lethal" psychological manipulation through Facebook and Twitter and other platforms.

The ICO, which regulates data protection issues in the UK, has found Google to be "too vague" when describing how it uses personal data gathered from its Web services and products, and has forced the search giant to sign a formal undertaking to improve the information it provides to people about how it collects personal data in the UK. The ICO ruled: "The new policy did not include sufficient information for service users as to how and why their personal data was being collected."

Diageo and existing sponsor Barclays are among the companies vying for one of football's biggest sponsorships. Barclays, the incumbent sponsor, has signalled that it may bid despite widespread expectations that it would withdraw when its existing deal expires at the end of next season. Samsung, the Korean consumer electronics giant and sponsor of Chelsea, is understood to have expressed an interest in bidding for the title sponsorship. Ford and Mastercard have also been touted as potential candidates.