Talks continue to save Woolworths
Talks continue between struggling High Street chain Woolworths and its banks in the hope of avoiding administration.

US shares up on 'Treasury choice'
US shares rise sharply on reports that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his treasury secretary, reassuring investors.

MP criticises energy firm charges
A senior MP says he believes energy companies are increasing customers' direct debit payments by more than is needed.

Darling fine-tunes recovery plan
The Chancellor is spending the weekend putting the final touches to a package of tax cuts and increases in public spending.

Repossession of homes up by 12%
The number of properties repossessed by mortgage lenders rose by 12% to 11,300 in the third quarter of the year.

Citigroup plunges on uncertainty
Shares in Citigroup, one of the biggest banks in the US, fell sharply on Friday amid uncertainty over the company's future.

Honda Swindon closing for 50 days
Honda is to cut production in Japan and Europe and close its Swindon plant in the UK in February and March next year.

Catalogue sales face PPI checks
The sale of payment protection insurance alongside goods sold in catalogues should be restricted, says the Competition Commission.

Meat inspectors vote for strike
Meat hygiene inspectors across the UK vote in favour of strike action in a row over work patterns and overtime payments.

Post Office told to stamp out Britain's 'waiting culture'
A watchdog calls on the Post Office to stamp out lengthy queues for customers and says too many businesses assume customers are happy to queue.

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.

Financial test
The challenge of a pre-Budget report in hard times

World Cup wobble
Will South Africa's 2010 World Cup be hit by a downturn?

Tread carefully
Employers cannot just sack staff they disagree with

Robert Peston
Pre-Budget report: Taxes to fall and then rise

Pickle 'n' mix
How did we fall out of love with Woolworths?

Present worries
Concerns over Christmas gifts' safety

Property sales rise in October
Property sales rose by 8% in October, according to the latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs.

EU warns against car subsidy race
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes tells France and Germany not to start a "subsidy race" to save the car industry

Bankers give up on HBOS campaign
The two leading bankers who had hoped to stop Lloyds TSB taking over HBOS abandon their plan for independence.

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

Eurozone business activity falls
Business activity in the 15 countries sharing the euro falls in November to a ten-year low, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) shows.

Gap profits higher than expected
American clothes retailer Gap defies Wall Street forecasts and reports higher-than-expected third quarter net profits.

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

Oil prices seen steady below $50
Oil prices steady on Friday after hitting their lowest level in three-and-a-half years a day earlier

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".

Asbestos victims win 'test case'
Asbestos-related cancer victims and their families have won an important test case over access to compensation.

Toyota upbeat about latest model
Japanese car maker Toyota defends bringing out a new model despite slashing its earnings forecast for 2008.

Italian telecoms talks collapse
Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary 3 Italia fails to reach a merger agreement with Telecom Italia because of price disagreements.

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 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 growth figure, which confirms it was Asia's first country in recession in the current crisis.

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.

Car hire putting £20 on premiums
The rise in claims made by credit hire companies is increasing the average car insurance premium, says insurer Zurich.

Cash in or stick it out with AIG?
Five and a half thousand people could lose up to 25% of their money after taking out an investment bond with AIG.

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

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.

Economy boost may mean pain later
Alistair Darling may be forced to set out future taxes rises to pay for a short-term boost to the economy, the BBC understands.

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.

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.

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.

Russian oil giant circles Repsol
Spanish savings bank La Caixa may sell its 14% stake in Spanish-Argentine energy firm Repsol to Russia's Lukoil.

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

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.

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