Franking Machine

Oil rises almost 3% on Friday - but falling demand pushes crude prices to their biggest monthly drop in October.

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony batteries over fears they may catch fire.

British bank Barclays unveils a proposal to raise up to

British Gas owner Centrica launches a

BT issues a profit warning, saying it would miss its earnings for the second quarter, sending its shares down 19%.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson clears the planned Lloyds TSB-HBOS merger, ruling the deal is in the public interest.

What is it like being a debt collector for a living?

Peter Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business, has approved the

US consumer spending fell for the first time in two years in September as the weakening economy prompted the biggest decline in Americans? confidence in at least three decades and reduced their ability to finance the purchase of goods and services.

Burger King has reported a 12 per cent rise in quarterly revenues, suggesting that, despite the downturn, diners have not lost their appetite for fast food.