online retail business
BBC News | Business | UK Edition
Visit BBC News for up-to-the-minute news, breaking news, video, audio and feature stories. BBC News provides trusted World and UK news as well as local and regional perspectives. Also entertainment, business, science, technology and health news.
- Woolworths stores set for closure
Administrators at Woolworths say the chain's 807 stores will close by 5 January and 27,000 staff are set to lose their jobs. - Unemployment increases by 137,000
The number of people out of work rose by 137,000 to 1.86 million in the three months to October, official figures show. - BAA told to sell three airports
The Competition Commission says it wants BAA to sell Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh airports to improve competition. - Full coverage of the UK economy, and tips on surviving the crisis
Tips on surviving the financial crisis, and full coverage of the UK economy - Bank considered bigger rate cut
The Bank of England's rate-setting body voted 9-0 to cut rates to 2% this month and considered a bigger move. - Retailers gloomy before Christmas
Retailers reported falling sales volumes in early December despite the cut in VAT, according to employers' group CBI. - BA to cut fuel surcharges further
British Airways will cut its fuel surcharges due to the reduction in oil prices, the airline says. - Dollar falls as Fed slashes rates
The dollar falls against other currencies after the US Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate to the lowest level among the developed economies. - Ryanair wins Belgian aid appeal
Ryanair does not have to repay a subsidy it got to encourage it to stay at Charleroi airport in Belgium, a European court rules - Watchdog 'ignored' Madoff warning
The top US financial watchdog is to investigate why it failed to act on warnings about Bernard Madoff, dating back to 1999. - Budweiser-brewer loses battle for the Bud brand in Europe
Budweiser-brewer Anheuser-Busch loses a trademark case about the use of 'Bud' in the European Union. - Real lives
Unemployed workers talk about their hopes - Robert Peston
The worst threat we face - deflation or inflation? - Follow the money
On the trail of migrants, cash-flow and crime - Irrational hopes
Why Madoff investors fooled themselves - It's behind you!
How panto is defying the downturn - Nuclear lab
Innovations make the nuclear clean-up easier - UK work time opt-out under threat
Euro MPs have voted in favour of ending the UK's opt-out from laws limiting the working week to 48 hours. - National Express to cut 750 jobs
Rail and bus firm National Express says it plans to cut up to 750 jobs to save costs over the next year. - Honda slashes its profit forecast
Japanese carmaker Honda cuts its annual profit forecast by 62% amid falling global car demand and the soaring yen. - Apple to ditch Macworld gathering
Apple's next Macworld gathering will be its last and Steve Jobs will not give the main presentation, the company says. - US rates slashed to nearly zero
The US Federal Reserve slashes its key interest rate from 1% to a range of zero to 0.25% - the lowest since records began. - Government backs mail sell-off
The government says it backs a recommendation that the Royal Mail should be part-privatised in an effort to secure its future. - Opec plans record oil output cut
The oil cartel Opec is set to agree to a record cut in oil output of two million barrels a day, says Saudi Arabia. - UK inflation rate falls to 4.1%
Lower energy costs helped to push the UK inflation rate down to 4.1% in November, official figures show. - UK income gap 'same as in 1991'
After 11 years of Labour government, the gap between the income of the richest and poorest households is unchanged, according to new figures. - Goldman Sachs reports huge loss
US financial giant Goldman Sachs reports a $2.12bn (Ј1.41bn) quarterly loss, its first since it went public in 1999. - No new cricket deal for Vodafone
Mobile phone group Vodafone says it will not renew its sponsorship of the England cricket team when the current deal ends in January 2010. - US inflation falls still further
US consumer prices fell by a record amount in November, figures show, as oil and other energy costs continued to fall. - US building slump continues
The construction of new US homes fell at its steepest rate for almost 25 years in November, figures show. - Ofgem targets Ј500m bill savings
A probe by energy regulator Ofgem should remove Ј500m in unfair bill premiums, it says, but it wants firms to move faster. - Biggest car sales fall since 1999
European new car sales dropped by 25.8% in November, figures show, as the economic downturn continues to hit the industry. - Loss at Comet after falling sales
Kesa Electricals reports a half-year loss at UK chain Comet, with sales falling in "extremely difficult" trading conditions. - 95,000 pensioners 'were overpaid'
An estimated 95,000 people have been overpaid a total of Ј126m as a result of errors in public sector pensions, it emerges. - Households have less spare cash
Household finances have been squeezed by an "abrupt" change in circumstances in the past year, says the Bank of England. - Progress on PPI 'disappointing'
Financial services companies have been too slow to stop mis-selling payment protection insurance, says the Financial Services Authority. - Extra help for first-time buyers
The government promises an extra Ј100m to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder. - Russia's industrial output slumps
Russian industrial output dropped 10.8% during November, fuelling fears the economy faces a recession. - Oil falls despite Opec's threats
Oil prices briefly rise above $50 a barrel ahead of Wednesday's Opec meeting, but then fall down to $45. - UK house prices 'to fall by 30%'
The head of Barclays bank warns of a big drop in house prices ahead of jobless figures out this week. - IMF sees world slowdown
The International Monetary Fund predicts the global economy may not begin to re