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Pawnbroker earns as consumers scrap for cash

UK’s biggest pawnbroker, H&T boosts earnings as desperate consumers turn in jewellery to boost their pockets

Business Bigshot: Katherine Garrett-Cox

The 40-year-old has been named chief executive of Alliance Trust, the £2.6 billion Scottish investment trust

Brickmaker hit by 31% profit slump

World's biggest brickmaker Wienerberger forced to shut factories as US and European construction sites are halted

Brixton quotes Dylan to explain dire results

Bob Dylan's lyrics get an airing to describe the 'apocalyptic' property market after the company reports a £237m loss

Michelle launches seven more Ultimo shops

Entepreneur Michelle Mone is to launch seven more Ultimo "shop in shop" lingerie boutiques in Debenhams stores

Lifestyle magazines thrive as lads' mags hit

Upmarket magazine titles experienced an increase in half-yearly circulation figures in the face of the credit crunch

Royal Ordnance future secured by MoD deal

A new 15-year contract to invest £2bn in the historic Royal Ordnance ammunition factories could lead to their eventual sale

BAE Systems wins US Air Force deal

BAE Systems has been named as one of the 12 prime contractors allowed to pitch for contracts from the US Air Force

Roche Holding offer rejected by Genentech

The San Francisco-based drug maker has rejected an offer by its majority shareholder, but said it would consider any sweetened bid

Southern Cross sales rise on fee increase

The care homes operator is still attempting to sell property assets that forced it to issue profit warning in June

Crown back in British hands in £70m deal

Endless, the private equity house, snaps up Crown Paints from Akzo Nobel and prepares to challenge Dulux

Cost fears for Olympic building plans

Raw materials and labour costs have risen by 12% in the last year, according to a study carried out by RICS

Leo Lewis on Asia: Michelin comes to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is to have a Michelin Guide, but the gastrononmic honour has been a herald of economic gloom for other cities

Boutiques set a fashionable example

Where the likes of Marriott and Hilton have made a virtue of uniformity, their boutique rivals have fostered individuality

Mecom profits plunge amid Danish paper battle

Northern European newspaper group describes freesheet war as 'unsustainable' as interim income falls to £3m

The BBC, Crufts and 'Nazi-style' breeding

BBC reviews coverage after own documentary raises health issues

Origin tells investors to reject £6.55bn bid

The Australian coal seam gas producer says joint venture partners will provide better value than BG Group's offer

BHP Billiton sees metals as a class act

Marius Kloppers, the chief executive of the Australian miner, has described aluminium as a 'middle-class commodity'

Hiscox says even the rich go on the fiddle

Robert Hiscox, chairman of the eponymous insurer, said the rich are not immune to fiddling in times of financial strain

Michael Page looks beyond London for profits

The recruitment company has tried to reassure investors it can weather the credit crunch after ending talks with Adecco

Pawnbroker earns as consumers scrap for cash

UK’s biggest pawnbroker, H&T boosts earnings as desperate consumers turn in jewellery to boost their pockets

Tesco slammed over 'unfair' food adverts

Supermarket giant publishes 'misleading' promotions over price comparisons with rivals, Asda and Morrisons

Customers warned after iPods catch fire in Japan

Apple has confirmed that older versions of its iPod Nano could overheat because of battery problems

Games industry targets illegal downloaders

Five of the world’s top games developers have launched an unprecedented legal assault demanding payment from thousands

Asda slashes pay-as-you-go mobile phone tariff

Supermarket giant claims to offer the cheapest deal in the UK just as Vodafone raises its prices for customers

Inmarsat launches six-tonne satellite

The launch puts the London-based communications company on course to completing its global mobile broadband network

Tempus analysis: Fight not flight

BAA insists it will fight to hang on to its airports but even a forced sale might not deliver the best new owners

Three-day tube strike called off

A tube strike that threatened to cripple London's transport network averted after pay offer increase in last-ditch talks

Britain holds £160bn stockpile of nuclear fuel

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is consulting with the industry on what to do with 100 tonnes of plutonium and uranium

RES to double workforce after landing Hungarian deal

The renewables firm is linking with Budapest-based Thermo KFT