Franking Machine

A financial stimulus package worth ?130 billion (

Banco Santander has snubbed 1.8 million small shareholders in Britain, excluding them from taking part in its ?7.2 billion (

Yesterday?s confirmation that the Bank of England considered cutting interest rates by more than the dramatic 1.5 per cent reduction earlier this month did nothing to calm investors? nerves.

Nick Brown, the Chief Whip, called yesterday for the North East to be exempted from the Government?s controversial tax on empty commercial buildings. However, Mr Brown, who is also Minister for the North East, said that the tax was appropriate for London and the South East.

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.

Hopes of further aggressive interest rate cuts were boosted yesterday as it emerged that the Bank of England considered a drastic reduction in borrowing costs of two percentage points, or even more, this month.

Britain?s biggest retailers will ring the opening bell on a brutal pre-Christmas price war today as they prepare to slug it out for the shrinking consumer purse.

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.

Wall Street plunges more than 5% on Wednesday to its lowest level in over five years on rising economic worries.

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