Boots is considering expanding its Boots the Chemist chain overseas for the first time since the early 1980s when

Boots is considering expanding its Boots the Chemist chain overseas for the first time since the early 1980s when forays into Canada and New Zealand proved unsuccessful. The announcement yesterday came as speculation grew that the company may soon use its pounds 600m cash pile to mount another share buy-back. Boots has ruled out tackling the US market which has been a graveyard for so many UK retailers, but is looking at Europe and the Far East. Had Ofgas decided that these costs could not be passed on, and British Gas had to charge its domestic consumers market rates, then bills next year would have fallen by between pounds 21 and pounds 48. Ms Spottiswoode said the new regime would require British Gas Trading to achieve a 5 per cent annual reduction in operating costs and would allow it a 9 per cent return on capital.Although tough, the new price curbs are unlikely to prompt a referral to the Monopolies and Merger Commission. However, TransCo still looks certain to end up before the MMC.

Mr Rogerson repeated yesterday that the TransCo price curbs were "ill-founded, damaging to the interests of British Gas shareholders and not in the overall best interests of gas consumers".But Ms Spottiswoode said she had yet to receive any "logical or coherent" response from British Gas So far all she had received was "a huge emotional barrage".. Within the overall cap, however, it will be able to offer different price tariffs to different categories of customer provided that its basket of price stay within RPI-5.British Gas will also be allowed to pass on to customers the full costs of its massive and loss-making take-or-pay contacts with North Sea suppliers. We have been less vociferous only because the proposals are less extreme."Ms Spottiswoode defended the new price curbs saying: "They give British Gas the freedom and flexibility to compete while protecting consumers."Ian Powe, director general of the Gas Consumers Council, welcomed the proposals, saying: "This is a triumphant day for regulation and gas consumers." They would, he added, redress the balance of shareholder and consumer interest.Under the proposals, British Gas Trading must limit price increases to inflation less 5 per cent for the three years from April, 1997 The present price cap is RPI-4. Gas bills for 19 million domestic consumers are set to fall by a further pounds 8 a year under fresh price curbs announced yesterday by the industry regulator, Clare Spottiswoode of Ofgas. These are the second set of cuts in as many months and, together with tougher controls on the prices charged by British Gas's transportation arm TransCo, will reduce the average bill of pounds 320 by pounds 40 from April next year. British Gas immediately warned that the proposals, if implemented, would cause a significant squeeze on profits and hamper its ability to compete when the domestic market is fully liberalised in 1998.Philip Rogerson, deputy chairman of British Gas, said they would reduce the profits of its domestic supply business by 40 per cent from pounds 152m to pounds 90m and require it to reduce costs by 15 per cent between 1995 and April next year.Although British Gas's response to these latest price curbs was more measured than its reaction to the TransCo proposals, Mr Rogerson said: "Nobody should be under the impression that we are happy.

The Chancellor is due to give his Mansion House speech, traditionally on monetary policy, next Wednesday.Sterling lost more than a pfennig in value against the mark yesterday, closing at DM2.3580. The short sterling futures market soared, but continued to point to base rates back near 7 per cent a year from now.Comment, page 17. Millions of borrowers were yesterday facing the prospect of cheaper mortgages as Britain's biggest lenders used the Chancellor's base rate cut to launch a further broadside in the home loans price war. Halifax and Abbey National, with about 3.5 million borrowers between them, announced they were cutting the cost of their variable interest mortgages by 0.26 per cent to 6.99 per cent, the lowest for more than 30 years. Bradford & Bingley, whose headline rate already stood at 6.99, said it would drop the cost of its mortgages by a further 0.25 per cent, while Alliance & Leicester and most other mortgage lenders hinted they too would follow the bigger players.The decision by Halifax and Abbey National cuts monthly payments on a typical pounds 50,000 interest-only mortgage from about pounds 275 to pounds 265, a saving of pounds 10.

Repayment-style mortgages will be cut by pounds 7.40.Nationwide, which has a million borrowers, said it had no immediate plans to cut mortgage rates below its market-beating low of 6.74 per cent.However, Halifax's new rate will be delayed until 1 August for existing borrowers, while Abbey National said yesterday that its borrowers would only benefit from 1 September.Abbey blamed the delay on the problem of integrating its computer system with that of National & Provincial Building Society, which it is in the process of taking over.Savers were warned yesterday that the amount paid on their deposits was likely to fall further in the wake of the base and mortgage rate cuts.. The SMMT was particularly encouraged by a sharp rise in retail purchases.Venture capitalists 3i reported that optimism among small and medium- sized companies had risen for the second quarter running, especially those not involved in manufacturing.In addition, the number of companies going into receivership rose between April and May but was a third lower than a year earlier, according to accountancy firm Deloitte and Touche. There was a particularly significant drop in the South-east.Treasury officials and ministers hold their annual Dorneywood meeting this weekend to kick off discussions of this year's Budget strategy. It said 43 per cent of its offices had reported a shortage of three- or four-bedroom semi- detached houses.David Wood, managing director, said: "Buyers are obviously judging now as the right time to re-enter the market, or buy for the first time.''According to the Halifax's figures, house prices have climbed at an annualised rate of 12 per cent so far this year.Separate figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) yesterday showed that new car registrations last month were 8.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. However, retailers' optimism about future sales returned to its highest since December 1988, despite the fact that their recent expectations have been consistently disappointed.Alastair Eperon, chairman of the CBI's distributive trades panel, welcomed the emergence of a ''feel-better mood" among consumers.Estate agents Black Horse brought news of a property shortage as thousands of potential buyers re-entered the housing arena.