Your Single Source to Online United Kingdom Business News, British Economy, Current Events and Headlines

Want to find out what is happening in the United Kingdom?

Check out iHaveNet.com for the latest United Kingdom Business news, British Industry, economic current events and information on the latest top stories from the United Kingdom and more. Your Single Source to British Business News Articles.

Oil pushes ever higher
Price of litre of petrol tops £1 for first time in UK as oil surges on a North Sea storm. By Graeme Wearden.

Dollar hits 26-year low against pound
The pound climbed to $2.10 for the first time since 1981 today, boosted by speculation that China was preparing to shift its foreign reserves out of dollars. By Graeme Wearden.

US gloom weighs on FTSE
Market report: London shares resumed their downward trek today, knocked by volatile oil prices, a tumbling dollar, jitters around banks and more anxieties on Wall Street. By Katie Allen.

Virgin Media hails growth 'turnaround'
Virgin Media signals that era of upheaval marked by public rows with BSkyB is behind it as the cable TV company posts strongest customer growth in more than a year. By Katie Allen and Chris Tryhorn.

National Starch takeover to cost thousands of jobs
Henkel, the maker of Schwarzkopf hair products, plans to cut thousands of jobs when it completes its £2.7bn acquisition of ICI's National Starch adhesives business early next year. By David Gow.

FirstGroup thanks oil price for rise in bus revenue
British bus and rail operator says soaring oil price forcing motorists out of their cars and on to public transport. By Dan Milmo.

Next sales 'highly volatile'
Outlook at fashion chain Next 'uncertain' in run-up to Christmas, company warns. By Julia Finch.

Virgin Media upbeat after growth in customers
Cable group Virgin Media added 13,000 new customers in the third quarter of the year. By Chris Tryhorn.

Bank governor tones down criticism of Darling over crisis at Northern Rock
· King: 'No disagreement with chancellor' · Authorities knew savers had insufficient protection

Jazz label joins the DRM-free revolution
Record label Universal Music Classics & Jazz is making its entire catalogue available online without copy protection as part of an experiment to gauge fans' demand for MP3 tracks. By Katie Allen.

ITV plc shares hit all-time low
ITV's share price fell to an all-time low after it emerged the company wants BSkyB to sell its 17.9% stake. By Chris Tryhorn and Katie Allen.

News Corporation has appointed 27-year-old opera singer Natalie Bancroft to its board
News Corporation has overridden the wishes of Dow Jones shareholders the Bancroft family by appointing a 27-year-old opera singer with little experience of the media to represent the family on its board, according to reports.

Chinese foray marks M&S's return to overseas expansion
Chain will open stores in Shanghai next year.

Congressmen corner Yahoo! over jailed Chinese dissident
The head of the American internet company delivered a personal apology today to the tearful mother of a Chinese journalist who was jailed using email information provided by the firm to secret police in Beijing. By Andrew Clark.

Some are more equal than others
On Europe: Revelations about wages for union workers at chemicals giant BASF have caused a stir. By David Gow in Munich.

Public sector shortfall highest since 1994
UK public finances are on course to record the largest deficits since the 1970s with government debt also poised to surge as the credit crisis takes its toll on revenues

Osborne calls for state to act as bank
George Osborne, shadow chancellor, has called on the government to act as a bank and offer direct loans as a 'radical' last resort if businesses remain starved of credit

High street spending defies forecasts
The volume of UK sales in the three months to October was flat, a much better outcome than expected and in contradiction to gloomy industry surveys, as retailers are forced into discounts to entice shoppers

Unionists see funding threat to policing deal
A leading member of Northern Ireland's majority party warns the agreement on the devolution of policing and justice will unravel unless the Treasury agrees to extra funds

Ecclestone could face most expensive divorce
The billionaire F1 supremo, who is splitting with his wife after 24 years of marriage, is up for an unprecedented battle over his vast fortune, which is held mostly in an offshore trust

Oxbridge accepts engineering diploma students
The decision by Oxford and Cambridge universities to consider pupils studying the controversial diploma is good news for ministers who have struggled to win acceptance for the qualifications

BBC local news proposal faces flak
A plan by the UK broadcaster to show local news videos online – potentially imperilling regional newspaper groups – is being strongly opposed by the government

Tide turns over incentives for life policies
UK life assurance industry moves away from up-front commissions, which have come to be seen as a proxy for value-destroying business practices

Off-target Aim
Despite its current malaise, London's junior market has a vital part to play, and should still be there to play it when the economic recovery comes

Network Rail seeks clarification on funding from regulator
The rail network operator edged towards accepting the regulator's ruling on funding but said it needed to know its credit rating

Darling lifeline for small companies
The chancellor is to underwrite new loans to small firms as part of a package of measures to help the sector, amid opposition claims that the credit crisis is 'strangling' companies

Get women on board, bailed-out banks urged
Females should be appointed to the boards of banks bailed out by the government, according to a bellwether report on women in the boardroom that shows the rise of female executives is continuing at a glacial pace

Bank of England discussed 200bp rate cut
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to slash the bank rate by 1.5 percentage points this month, and considered an even larger cut, underscoring concerns about credit conditions globally and the decline in consumption and demand at home

Internet-savvy Britons lead digital league
The UK emerges as a nation of gadget-savvy internet junkies – spending more time than the rest of Europe browsing the internet, social networking and playing video games – in new research

Manufacturers expect sharpest contraction in 30 years
The CBI Industrial Trends survey came as the EEF reported that one in four companies which had negotiated a pay deal in the three months to the end of September had either deferred a decision or elected to freeze pay

BBC local video scheme rejected
The BBC Trust rejects controversial plans to launch a £68m network of local news websites with video content

Oil price up as Asian stocks rise
Oil prices bounce back from a three-and-a-half year low, tracking Asian stocks higher, but are still below $50 a barrel.

Banks 'must kick-start lending'
Banks must start lending again or face being named and shamed, the Treasury Select Committee chairman says.

Fullers upbeat amid downturn
Fuller, Smith & Turner says it is confident it will "cope well" even though the UK economic outlook did "not look good".

RBS boss apologises over losses
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chairman, Sir Tom McKillop, says he is "profoundly sorry" for the bank's financial difficulties.

Japan keeps rates on hold at 0.3%
Japan's central bank keeps its key rate unchanged at 0.3% on Friday but warns of an uncertain outlook.

Dell sees quarterly profits slip
US computer maker Dell sees its quarterly profits fall as customers around the world buy fewer computers.

No agreement for US car bail-out
US carmakers are given a deadline to produce a viable recovery plan if they want a $25bn government bail-out.

Singapore officially in recession
Singapore downgrades its economic growth figure, which confirms it was Asia's first country in recession in the current financial crisis.

British teenagers remain optimistic about jobs in face of downturn
Most young people are confident of finding a job despite the economic downturn, a survey finds.

Shop till you prop up the economy, Taiwan residents told
Taiwan's prime minister announces a cash handout for all residents in a bid to try to stave off economic crisis.

Aid request
The CBI wants the chancellor to help small firms

Present worries
Concerns over Christmas gifts' safety

Broke, not dim
Some carmakers struggle while others grow

Robert Peston
Sorry - but that's not going to be the end of it

Discount delight
Boost for budget supermarkets as slowdown deepens

Douglas Fraser
Future of Scotland's newspapers not black or white

Recession fears hit Wall Street
Wall Street shares fall steeply for the second day in a row, amid investors' growing fears of a protracted economic downturn.

Retail sales bring scant comfort
Sales on the UK's High Streets fell by a lower-than-expected 0.1% in October, Office for National Statistics figures show.

Rolls-Royce plans 2,000 job cuts
Aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce says it plans to cut between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs in 2009, including 140 in the UK.

Santander snubs UK shareholders
The giant Spanish bank Santander has excluded 1.8 million UK shareholders from taking part in a new share issue.

Mothercare sees its profit double
Baby goods retailer Mothercare says it is well-placed for Christmas as strong growth in its international and online business helps boost profits.

Revenue's new offshore tax trawl
Offshore tax dodgers will be facing a second round of investigations by HM Revenue & Customs next year.

UK October budget deficit widens
The UK's public sector net borrowing widened by £1.4bn in October ahead of the pre-Budget report, official figures show.

Bankers 'scrap' HBOS campaign
The two leading bankers who had hoped to stop Lloyds TSB taking over HBOS appear to have abandoned their plan.

Russia pushes Ukraine on debt
Russia demands Ukraine to repay a $2.4bn gas debt, raising fears of a renewed dispute which could disrupt supplies to Europe.

Peugeot Citroen cuts 2,700 jobs
French car company Peugeot Citroen announces plans to shed 2,700 jobs because of falling demand in Europe.

Latvia to seek support from IMF
Latvia becomes the second European Union country to seek the International Monetary Fund's help to stabilise its financial system.

UK borrowing rise 'is necessary'
The government says it is "right to increase borrowing" as figures show public debt rose by £1.4bn last month.

Gangmaster has licence revoked
A gangmaster at the centre of the biggest human trafficking raid by police in the UK has had its licence revoked.

EU reaches deal on farm reforms
EU ministers agree to reform farm policy by moving more subsidies away from production and liberalising the dairy market.

October mortgage lending picks up
Mortgage lending rose by nearly 7% between September and October, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show.

House sales rise as prices fall
Property sales rose slightly in October, for the second month in a row, the National Association of Estate Agents says.

Premium Bond prize fund is cut
The number of Premium Bond prizes is being reduced following the recent cut in the Bank rate to 3%.

Bank hints at further rate cuts
Expectations of another rate cut rise after the release of minutes from the Bank of England meeting which slashed rates to 3%.

IMF approves $2.1bn Iceland loan
The International Monetary Fund approves a $2.1bn (£1.4bn) loan for Iceland, after its banking system collapsed in October.

China fears grow over job losses
Beijing says its employment outlook is "grim", amid concerns of increasing social unrest caused by economic problems.

Putin vows to prevent 'collapse'
Russia's prime minister vows to prevent another financial "collapse" in the country, referring to the crises in the 1990s.

Scam suspect extradited
Panama extradites a Colombian suspected of running the country's biggest pyramid finance scheme.

Downturn hits newspaper profits
The Daily Mail's publisher reports a 9% fall in full-year profit, while competitors announce a pay freeze and job cuts.

Microsoft ends Yahoo buyout talks
Microsoft's boss tells the firm's annual general meeting that it is no longer looking to buy Yahoo.

AstraZeneca axes jobs and plants
Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca says it will cut 1,400 jobs by 2013 and close three European factories in a cost-cutting effort.

Robert Peston's blog: Keep up-to-date with the latest business analysis
For the latest business analysis

Guidelines for financial journalists

Citigroup meets to consider rescue options
The board of Citigroup will meet today to consider options for the US bank, including a possible merger, after a further catastrophic fall in its share price yesterday.

John Lewis sales plunge 14 per cent
Sales at John Lewis, the department store group and high street bellwether, plunged by 14 per cent last week, in one of the retailer's worst trading periods in recent history.

London shares stem losses despite US falls
Shares in London today made small gains against heavy falls suffered earlier this week, following a strong recovery in Asia where the Bank of Japan held interest rates at 0.3 per cent and said it would consider further capital injections.

Mortgage debt forces thousands to sell up
Graphic: the state of housing

Need to know: EasyJet aircraft sale ... Young’s rises ... Tiscali sale decision
View video and Need to Know interactive heatmap

BBC plans for local outlets under threat
Controversial BBC plans to develop local news websites are expected to suffer a setback today, with ministers voicing concerns over the impact that the scheme will have on the viability of local newspapers.

IG’s value plummets by 27% after spread bets on bank shares cause £12m of bad debts in one month
IG Group, the spread-betting company, lost more than a quarter of its stock market value yesterday after it admitted that some of its high-rolling clients had been burnt by the meltdown in banking shares last month.

Woolworths in talks over £1 offer despite investor vowing to fight for better value
Woolworths’ biggest shareholder was locked in meetings with advisers last night over how best to fight Hilco’s £1 offer for the company’s retail arm.

RBS shareholders accept £20bn bailout as Goodwin steals away
Shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland voted almost unanimously to accept the Government's £20 billion bailout package yesterday. However, any anger that existed was directed more towards the Treasury than at the bank's board. Rage that small shareholders felt towards the board for presiding over a 90 per cent fall in the bank's stock market value and the disappearance of dividends appeared to have been assuaged by a deep apology by Sir Tom McKillop, the chairman.

Tax-cut gamble will let Britain buy now – but we’ll certainly pay later
Graphic: drowning in red ink

Welcome boost for schools and hospitals but council taxes look certain to soar
Graphic: drowning in red ink

Public money offers lifeline to struggling small firms
Alistair Darling will try to kickstart bank lending next week by offering new taxpayer-funded guarantees for loans to small and medium-sized firms, it emerged last night.

German rejection knocks European rescue plan
Germany rebuffed Gordon Brown’s push for a coordinated fiscal response to the economic crisis yesterday when it rejected EU-wide tax cuts in the growth package to be announced by the European Commission next week.

Turkey closes on $40bn IMF safety valve$
Turkey is close to agreeing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would allow it to draw up to $40 billion ($£27 billion) in funds if needed to help the country to combat the global credit crisis.

Deutsche Bank expected to axe 900 staff
Deutsche Bank is expected to announce that it will dismiss about 900 staff, or one in seven traders, in its single biggest cut to investment banking since the onset of the financial crisis.

Gloom spreads to Europe and Asia carmakers
The gloom surrounding the global car industry deepened today as major companies across Europe and Asia announced production cuts and job losses.

Steve Ballmer says only search link with Yahoo! appeals
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, reopened the door to a deal with Yahoo! on its search business yesterday, but ruled out buying the struggling internet company.

Banks thrive in role of top bananas
There are at least five ways of saying, “with the benefit of hindsight”. We know because Sir Tom McKillop, the chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, wheeled out all five in his apology to shareholders yesterday. A once mighty institution has been all but destroyed and is still breathing only because of the promise of £20 billion of public money.

Printed word still has power to persuade the masses
Count them: more than 550,000 people have signed The Sun's petition demanding that Haringey council sack the social workers involved in the wretched case of Baby P. That is more than ten times the number who formally complained about Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, but no council employee has yet resigned, while several from the BBC have gone.

National Grid has the power to keep investors interested
A FTSE 100 company with net debt of £20 billion – nearly £4 billion higher than its stock market value – would normally get short shrift from prospective shareholders. Fortunately for Steven Holliday, chief executive of National Grid, his company sits in a sector where high borrowings are the norm, and whose defensive traits are now more prized than at any time since the utility privatisations of the 1980s.

Market weighs up Citi scenarios
After another brutal day for Citigroup, the market is beginning to think through a host of unpalatable options

Dell reports reversal of fortunes
The world's second biggest PC maker suffers an unexpectedly steep decline in revenue in its latest quarter as the economic downturn hits corporate demand for technology

JPMorgan cuts first of an expected 3,000 jobs
The investment banking unit of JPMorgan Chase began to reduce by what is believed to be 10% of its workforce amid the massive cutbacks in the financial services industry

Basel outlines stricter limits for banks' capital
Plans to make banks hold greater capital reserves and limit the amount they can borrow have been outlined by the world's leading banking watchdog in an effort to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis

Hedge fund investors pull out record $40bn
Hedge fund investors pulled a record $40bn out of the industry in October as poor performance prompted a flight to cash, according to data on Thursday

Alarm over car suppliers' health
Carmakers around the globe are raising the alarm about the declining health of US auto suppliers, whose problems they fear could ricochet back to hurt them

Vampires set to provide ray of hope amid gloom
Escapism from dark economic times is contributing to a boom in vampire-themed entertainment, with the release of the film of a best-selling fantasy romance novel expected to provide new impetus to the biggest publishing phenomenon since Harry Potter

Canadian partner criticises De Beers
The world's largest diamond deposit remains undeveloped for no good reason, shareholders of a Canadian diamond company have claimed in a criticism of De Beers. The industry leader is the company's joint venture partner in developing the enormous deposit in Canada

RBS bosses apologise to investors
A profuse and candid apology to angry investors in Royal Bank of Scotland for its troubles was delivered by its chairman and outgoing chief executive

Sony downbeat on US consumer spending
Head of US unit expects lacklustre Christmas, providing a contrast with Consumer Electronics Association's rosy prediction of 3.5% increase in sales

Citigroup weighs options as shares slide
Citigroup's crisis deepened as its shares continued to slump in spite of a planned investment of about $250m by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, its largest individual investor

Chrysler hopes to revive GM merger talks
Chrysler hopes to revive merger talks with General Motors once a government bail-out package for Detroit's carmakers is agreed allowing the two companies to address their immediate liquidity problems

General Electric: Circuit failure?
Missed earnings targets at General Electric, the conglomerate led by Jeffrey Immelt, have shaken confidence in a business model designed to withstand downturns

Lukoil linked with Repsol deal
Russia's second largest oil group emerges as potential buyer of minority stake in Repsol as La Caixa confirms talks on selling 12.5% stake

AstraZeneca plans 1,400 job cuts
Anglo-Swedish drugs group Astrazeneca announced 1,400 job cuts as it revealed that it had been awarded a temporary restraining by a New Jersey judge to halt the sale of a generic version of Pulmicort

Miners help FTSE move away from year-low
Mining stocks helped the FTSE 100 turn its back on its lowest level for the year, as the sector looked undervalued after steep selling during the previous two sessions

Fear of severe downturn grips world markets
Fears of a severe recession gripped financial markets as dire unemployment figures from the US drove long-term interest rates down to record lows

Fear stalks the world's economies
Anxiety about a severe recession gripped financial markets as dire unemployment figures from the US drove long-term interest rates to record lows

High street spending defies forecasts
The volume of UK sales in the three months to October was flat, a much better outcome than expected and in contradiction to gloomy industry surveys, as retailers are forced into discounts to entice shoppers

Fuller sticks to £16m spending plan
Fuller, Smith & Turner promised to press on with a £16m capital investment programme in its pub estate despite the downturn that has seen other companies in the leisure sector pull back on spending

Off-target Aim
Despite its current malaise, London's junior market has a vital part to play, and should still be there to play it when the economic recovery comes

L&G supports Barclays issue through gritted teeth
Legal & General Investment Management has backed away from its threat to vote against Barclays' move to raise £7bn in fresh capital, much of it from Middle Eastern investors

RBS bosses apologise to investors
A profuse and candid apology to angry investors in Royal Bank of Scotland for its troubles was delivered by its chairman and outgoing chief executive

Hedge fund investors pull out record $40bn
Hedge fund investors pulled a record $40bn out of the industry in October as poor performance prompted a flight to cash, according to data on Thursday

Halfords warns of fall in trading
Car maintenance and bike seller says sales have slowed since the end of September as it seeks to sell more high margin products

DMGT seeks to save £100m from cost cuts
Owner of the Daily Mail and a range of regional titles including the Evening Standard reveals plans to save £100m as it reports falling profits

Aim loses its shine as new listings dry up
The boom times have come to an abrupt halt for Aim, London's lightly regulated share market for smaller companies as new fundraisings dry up

Bank of England discussed 200bp rate cut
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to slash the bank rate by 1.5 percentage points this month, and considered an even larger cut, underscoring concerns about credit conditions globally and the decline in consumption and demand at home

IG Group plunges on doubtful debt fears
Shares in the financial markets betting company fall more than 27% after it warned it would suffer a huge jump in doubtful debts in spite of benefiting from recent extreme volatility

Sorrell offers glimmer of hope over advertising
Sir Martin Sorrell offered a glimmer of hope to struggling newspapers, radio companies and broadcasters, saying they would be more attractive to his clients next year

Citigroup's troubles will not sleep

Congress is tackling the GM and Ford bailout plea in the right way
Congressional leaders have taken an encouraging step in deliberating whether to bail out Detroit's carmakers with taxpayers' cash.

Mortgage arrears: Seven ways to cope
The number of homeowners who have fallen into mortgage arrears has risen sharply since the summer.

Citigroup 'considering options' as shares plunge
Citigroup one of the world's largest banks is considering selling parts of the business or merging with another company according to reports in the US.

Petrol prices could fall by more than 10p a litre by Christmas
Petrol prices for drivers in the UK could fall by more than 10p a litre by Christmas.

Asian markets rebound after US slump
Asian stocks have rebounded despite the overnight slump in New York and oil falling below 50 a barrel.

One in five home sellers are 'forced downsizing'
A fifth of homes on the market are being sold because the owners can no longer afford to keep up with mortgage payments according to a new survey.

Woolworths lenders balk at rescue plan
Lastditch talks to rescue Woolworths are close to collapsing after the retailer's lenders refused to sign up to a deal.

US markets plunge to 11year low
US markets plunged to 11yearlows as concern over liquidity in the banking sector was compounded by failure to reach a funding deal for car makers and oil falling below 50 a barrel.

L?G reluctantly supports Barclays fundraising
Barclays' largest institutional shareholder Legal ? General is reluctantly supporting the bank's controversial fundraising.

When money is tight people spend less. Are you listening Mr Darling?
Jeff Randall argues that the root cause of this economic misery is debt and the government must start to redeem its IOUs.

CBI boss is a realist not a pessimist
Directorgeneral Richard Lambert is feeling slightly uneasy that the CBI might be overdoing the economic doom and gloom.

Small business role small hours big pay
City Diary

Taylor Wimpey falls despite Monarch selloff
Hopes that embattled housebuilder Taylor Wimpey may get £100m - £150m for its Canadian division failed to buoy the shares.

Brazil and China emerge as models of stability while UK looks risky bet
When is an emerging market no longer an emerging market? And what happens to developed markets if they start to well backslide?

Mothercare worth adding to your family of shares
Mothercare290p 21½pQuestor says Buy

McKillop may be apologetic over RBS woes but he remains in denial
City Comment

Europe's superbank EIB enters perilous waters
The European Investment Bank has seen its arrears rate surge over recent weeks writes Ambrose EvansPritchard.

Barclays and Santander set unwanted precedent in their rush for capital
Preemption rights are getting left behind.

Saudi prince backs Citigroup despite share slide
Shares in global banking conglomerate Citigroup slid to 14yearlow despite strong words of support from one of its largest backers.

Blow for US car industry
The US car industry was dealt another blow after it emerged politicians were unable to agree on whether to advance a lifeline to the big three manufacturers.

Financial crisis: UK can't afford its shopping addiction anymore
Britain has become a nation of shopaholics but at last we might have to get to grips with the addiction.

Dire public finances exposed with first October deficit in 14 years
The dire state of the public finances was underlined as official figures showed the budget deficit widened in October.

GE talks to sovereign wealth funds over tieups
General Electric is speaking to a number of sovereign wealth funds about possible joint ventures in infrastructure projects.

Switzerland's shock rate cut unnerves markets
Switzerland has slashed interest rates a full percentage point to 1pc in an emergency move.

Another £3bn at risk in Northern Rock
Another £3bn of taxpayer money has been put at risk in Northern Rock after its offbalance sheet funding vehicle went into runoff.

Oil falls below 50 a barrel for first time in three years
Crude oil fell to its lowest price in more than three years dipping below 50 a barrel on recessionary fears.

Halfords sees resilient first half
The carparts retailer said profit in the first half was boosted by sales of bicycles and car maintenance products.

Advertisers want to save ITV pricing regulation
Advertisers have said that the Contracts Rights Renewal CRR remedy introduced to protect advertisers from ITV's market dominance must not be scrapped despite the "unprecedented worsening economic situation" hitting the broadcaster's revenues.

Daily Mail Independent in talks to merge back offices
Daily Mail ? General Trust is in talks with Independent News ? Media to combine the back offices of their Londonbased newspapers.

RBS apologises for near collapse
Royal Bank of Scotland executives bowed to pressure and apologised to shareholders for the near collapse of the bank.

Young's suffers from London slowdown
Young ? Co's the Londonbased pub company has seen likeforlike sales slide 3.3pc since the end of September as the capital's leisure sector finally succumbs to the effects of the economic downturn.

Veteran US investor says global economy could recover quickly
A leading US activist fund manager has said that the global economic slump could be more than half way through.

UK Treasury lends Iceland £2.2bn to compensate Icesave customers
The UK is loaning Iceland £2.2bn to help pay compensation to British customers of the failed internet bank Icesave.

"It's recession not Armageddon" cautions Next chief Wolfson
The chief executive of high street retailer Next said that any tax cuts in the PreBudget Report must be sustainable.

German rail giant seeks strategic investors
Deutsche Bahn has opened talks with potential investors from Saudi Arabia Russia and Asia over raising fresh cash for expansion.

Calls for lower gas bills as oil falls below 50 a barrel
There were renewed calls for gas companies to cut their customer bills last night after the price of oil fell below 50 a barrel for the first time in more than three years.

Women should be appointed to bailedout banks says report
Women should be appointed to the boards of banks that have bailed out by the Government a new study suggested.

Government borrowing running at double last year's level
A collapse in companies' tax payments has pushed the Government's finances further into the red with borrowing by the Treasury running at almost double the level of last year.

New wave of job cuts at leading UK companies
RollsRoyce BAE Systems and AstraZeneca have dealt a further blow to the economy by announcing job cuts totalling 3600.

One in eight pubs could close over next three years as recession bites
One in eight pubs could close over the next three years because of competition from the supermarkets and the impending recession a leading beer group has warned.

FTSE 100 drops as recession fears hit oil giants
The FTSE 100 dropped as gloomy economic data from the US heightened concern the recession is deepening.

CBI warns that companies face new pensions crisis
British companies are struggling to cope with a multibillion pound pension bill due to the economic crisis the CBI has warned.

Scotland should have its own Treasury and Chancellor says think tank
Scotland should have its own Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer with the power to raise all the money it spends a leading think tank has concluded.

A new way to put your finances into shape
The Telegraph has teamed up with Wesabe the online financial planning site to help readers get a handle on their finances. Emma Wall logged on to see if she could put her money matters into shape.

Christmas sales come early as stores slash prices
Big name stores cut their prices and a third of shops offer discounts of at least 20pc.

RBS issues sweeping apology to shareholders
Sir Tom McKillop chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland has issued a sweeping apology for the dramatic implosion of the banking giant.

Government bonds soar as investors fly to quality
The value of Government bonds in the US has risen to record levels as spooked investors ignore the suffering equity markets and invest in the safehaven of state debt.

Biggest deficit since records began reveal state of public finances
The deteriorating state of Britain's finances is underlined with figures that show the biggest deficit since records began.

Markets slide as economic gloom deepens
The FTSE 100 drops in London and the Dow Jones Index in New York as the economic news from around the world signalled a sharp slowdown next year.

House building slumps to a record low
House building has slumped to a record low with the number of new houses started almost 50 per cent down on a year ago official statistics have revealed.

Lloyds voters back HBOS merger deal
LLOYDS TSB shareholders yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bank's merger with HBOS.

British Land slips £1.3bn into the red
PROPERTY giant British Land yesterday dived £1.3 billion into the red after seeing the value of its portfolio plunge in the wake of the credit crunch.

Cutting-edge delivery
GROWTH in online Christmas shopping is a double-edged sword for parcels delivery group Business Post, it admitted yesterday.

Wonder of Woolies could go for a song
WOOLWORTHS' stock market value slumped by more than a third yesterday after it confirmed it wasin talks to sell its stores for a nominal sum, placing a possible value of just £1 on one of Britain's best known high street names.

FTSE plunges again as recession fears worsen
The FTSE 100 Index plunged nearly five per cent today as banking and mining stocks fell on worries over the scale of the global downturn.

Shareholders rein in Barclays board
BARCLAYS directors are on trial for their jobs after making a series of ill-received concessions to shareholders furious at the way it has handled a controversial £7billion fundraising.

Enterprise cut-back
PUB group Enterprise Inns is to launch a major disposal programme as part of plans to pay down part of its £3.7billion debt mountain.

Homebuyers fight shy
FALLING prices and an increase in the incentives on offer were luring more potential buyers to its show homes, housebuilder Barratt said yesterday.

Davies quits M&S Per Una brand
ONE of the best-known names in UK fashion, George Davies, 67, is ending his association with Marks & Spencer by retiring as chairman of its Per Una fashion brand.

Burberry gets blues
LUXURY goods group Burberry yesterday joined the list of credit crunch fashion victims as it warned of increasingly tough trading conditions, particularly in the U.S.

Carphone split
CARPHONE WAREHOUSE yesterday launched a strategic review likely to result in the division of its TalkTalk telecoms business from its retail arm.

Stelios in broadside at easyJet
A ROW between easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the budget airline's board intensified yesterday when he refused to approve the company's accounts.

Japan latest victim of world recession
THE global economic downturn spread further yesterday as Japan slid into recession for the first time in seven years.

Premier soars on sale talk
Premier Foods shares soared 13 per cent yesterday on hopes the board would be forced to sell Mr Kipling cakes as part of moves to reduce its £1.7 billion debt mountain.

Barclays board made to face agm approval
THE entire Barclays board will put itself up for re-election at its next annual meeting in the face of the shareholder revolt against the bank's controversial £7billion fundraising.

LOGIN / PASSWORD EMAIL   FREE EMAIL - To Sign Up Click Here

Search Powered by Google

Job & Career Search Powered by Indeed job title, keywords, company, location

 

RECENT MOVIE REVIEWS         RSS

Receive Movie Reviews Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner

Film Critic Michael Phillips on Video A Christmas Tale (Un Conte de Noel) Twilight Bolt