News and Information

Alcohol drinking 'continues fall'
Alcohol consumption has fallen faster than ever, figures from the British Beer and Pub Association suggest.

Europe agrees finance watchdogs
The European Union agrees to reform financial supervision, with new agencies to oversee banks, insurers and financial markets.

House prices fall again in August
House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society.

Four power firms face sales probe
Four of the "big six" UK energy suppliers are to be investigated amid concerns of mis-selling to customers, the regulator says.

Dell pulls out of battle for 3Par
Dell withdraws its bid for 3Par after rival Hewlett-Packard raises its offer for the data storage company to $2.1bn.

RBS to cut a further 3,500 jobs
Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to cut 3,500 jobs from its technical and back office division.

Burger King is sold for $3.26bn
Burger King is being sold to private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26bn (£2.1bn), it has been announced.

Plans for more £5 notes in ATMs
All banks and building societies have put in place plans to begin dispensing £5 notes from the cash machines, a report reveals.

Explosion on Gulf of Mexico rig
An explosion rips through an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the blast in April that caused a huge oil spill.

Russia extends grain export ban
Russia will consider lifting its grain export ban only after the next year's harvest has been reaped, Vladimir Putin says.

ECB ups eurozone growth forecasts
The European Central Bank raises its forecast for eurozone growth for this year and next year, and keeps interest rates on hold.

Tube strikes on as talks collapse
Thousands of Tube workers will strike next week as talks between London Underground bosses and two unions break down.

Zara launches online retail store
Zara starts selling its clothes online for the first time following similar moves from Gap and Banana Republic last month.

Samsung releases iPad competitor
Samsung has become the latest manufacturer to enter into the tablet computer market with its Galaxy Tab.

Recruitment firm warns on UK jobs
Although firms are replacing employees who have left, they are not creating new jobs, the UK's largest recruitment company warns.

Cold winter boosts Gazprom profit
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom reports a threefold surge in profits for the first three months of the year, despite a sharp fall in gas prices.

Royal Mail puts first 'intelligent' stamp on sale
The Royal Mail launches the world's first "intelligent" stamp, the first to work with image recognition technology.

Record sales of smokers' pensions
Smokers and people with weight problems are buying a tailored pension income in greater numbers, according to research.

Boots to dissolve pension scheme
The drug company Alliance Boots is dissolving one of its two final-salary pension schemes to 'ensure long-term security'.

Credit card debt is hitting banks
Banks have written off a record amount of credit card debt despite charities reporting a fall in calls from worried borrowers.

Higher student loan rates begin
Millions of graduates will now start paying interest on their student loans again as new interest rates come into effect.

Eurozone growth of 1% confirmed
The eurozone economy grew by 1% between April and June, driven by strong German growth, official figures confirm.

Afghan bank 'to avoid collapse'
The head of Afghanistan's Central Bank tells the BBC he will not allow the country's biggest commercial bank to collapse.

Blair 'warned on economy' in 2005
The UK should have addressed its public deficit back in 2005, former Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC.

Apple launches MySpace challenger
Apple launches a music-based social network called Ping as part of its latest upgrade to the iTunes music software.

Greenpeace rig activists arrested
Four Greenpeace activists are arrested after giving up their occupation of a Scottish company's drilling rig off Greenland.

TVs and iPads boost Currys sales
DSG International, which owns Currys and PC World, reports a 3% rise in sales, boosted by demand for TVs and iPads.

Hawk-Eye firm lined up for sale
The British company behind the Hawk-Eye ball-tracking technology used in tennis and cricket is to be put up for sale.

Premier League spending tumbles
Spending by English Premier League clubs in the summer transfer window has tumbled 22% from last year, a report says.

Blackburn bidder's firm shut down
A Bahrain-based company run by the man behind a £300m takeover bid of Blackburn Rovers has been instructed to cease trading by Bahrain authorities.

Switching supplier 'made bills soar'
Ron Manuel agreed to switch energy supplier when he was contacted by a rival company. However, his bills ended up being higher.

RBS job losses 'horrific', says union
Royal Bank of Scotland has said it is planning to cut 3,500 jobs as part of its plans to halve its administration centres across the UK. Siobhan Endean of Unite called the job losses ''horrific'' and said union members ''are paying the price for decisions by senior bankers''.

Online clothes shopping booming
Online clothes shopping is expected to grow to $144 billion by 2014 in western Europe according to market research company

Nationwide: Sellers back in market
House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society.

India's cities running out of space
Indian cities are getting bigger and there is a growing need for more housing, business space and public facilities.

Ofgem to investigate mis-selling
Four of the UK's biggest energy suppliers are to be investigated over concerns that customers have been mis-sold contracts.

Peru island makes gains from guano
An island off Peru is making money from selling bird poo to use as organic fertiliser.

Boom allows Brazilians a home
The property market in Brazil is booming, as the country enjoys rapid economic growth - and it has enabled thousands of people to buy their first home.

Bird business
The back-breaking, ear-splitting work on Peru's guano islands

Massive Mini
How far can BMW stretch the brand before it snaps?

Paying the price
PayPal's co-founder worked so hard he would sleep in the office

Brazil's property boom
After years of building for others, Sergio has bought his own home

Winning formula?
Formula 1 sponsors form alliance to lobby the sport's power brokers

Plug and Play
Bringing like-minded entrepreneurs together

Saving lives
21st Century technology is helping to fight female foeticide

You're grounded
Airline compensation claims scuppered