Current News

Illegal cord blood sample warning
Parents, hospitals and private firms are being warned over risky and illegal collections of umbilical cord blood (Mar 9 2010)

Women who drink wine in moderation stay slim, says study
Women can enjoy a tipple and stay slim, according to a study showing moderate drinkers gain less weight than teetotallers. (Mar 9 2010)

From BBC Health
What happens to your body under anaesthetic? (Mar 9 2010)

US city hands out female condoms in a bid to cut HIV infections
Washington DC will become the first city in the US to make female condoms available for free, local media say. (Mar 8 2010)

Action urged on pregnancy deaths
Pregnant women in developing countries face the same risk of death as women in the UK did 100 years ago, say campaigners. (Mar 8 2010)

Surgery on joints
Patient benefits from rare ankle replacement (Mar 6 2010)

Doctom Crash
10 years on from the burst Nasdaq bubble (Mar 10 2010)

Royal junk mail
Why postal reforms are good news for direct mailers (Mar 10 2010)

Aer Lingus to make 670 job cuts
Aer Lingus announces plans to lay off 670 staff, including nearly a quarter of its cabin crew, as part of restructuring plans. (Mar 9 2010)

Payment protection rules delayed
The Financial Services Authority is delaying its plans to combat the mis-selling of payment protection insurance. (Mar 9 2010)

BA strike talks deadline extended
Talks aimed averting strike action by BA cabin crew have been extended by an extra half day to Wednesday lunchtime. (Mar 9 2010)

EU concern over end of tanker bid
Brussels says it hopes European aerospace group EADS was not prevented from fairly bidding for a major US defence deal. (Mar 9 2010)

Sony eyeing June launch of 3D TV
Electronics giant Sony says its new 3D television will be on sale in Japan from June, with a cost of £2,600 for a 46-inch screen model. (Mar 9 2010)

Trade gap widens unexpectedly
The UK goods trade deficit with the rest of the world widens in January, with imports rising faster than exports. (Mar 9 2010)

Northrop and EADS exit tanker bid
Northrop Grumman and EADS pull out of bidding for a $35bn US Air Force air-to-air refuelling tanker contract. (Mar 9 2010)

Npower will cut gas bills by 7%
Energy company Npower is to cut domestic gas bills by 7% from 26 March, following price cuts by other suppliers. (Mar 9 2010)

Aer Lingus fares and profits fall
A day after Irish airline Aer Lingus delayed its full annual results, a trading update shows a fall in profits and fares. (Mar 9 2010)

Retail sales rebound in February
Retail sales bounced back in February after a tough January on the High Street, the latest figures show. (Mar 9 2010)

Eurotunnel makes profit in 2009
Eurotunnel, which manages the Channel Tunnel, makes an annual profit of 1.4m euros despite a "poor economic environment". (Mar 9 2010)

Legoland firm sees more visitors
Madam Tussauds, Sea Life and London Eye owners, Merlin, weathers the downturn with visitor growth and expansion plans. (Mar 9 2010)

Photographer Annie Leibovitz snaps up debt rescue deal
Photographer Annie Leibovitz does a deal with Colony Capital to clear huge debts that meant she may have lost her library of famous pictures. (Mar 9 2010)

Final call
Brendan Barber on pension scheme closures (Mar 9 2010)

Fuel fighters
Boeing wins lucrative mid-air refuelling battle (Mar 9 2010)

Cost cutters
Paying when companies shed pensions liabilities (Mar 9 2010)

Haiti challenge
Rebuilding a devastated economy (Mar 9 2010)

Toyota rejects electronics fears
Toyota rejects claims that faulty electronics could be behind its worldwide recall of more than eight million cars. (Mar 9 2010)

Deal agreed in Royal Mail dispute
A deal is reached in the long-running dispute at Royal Mail over modernising the postal service which led to strikes last year. (Mar 8 2010)

Complaint made over Kraft closure
The Takeover Panel receives a complaint over assurances given by Kraft that it would save a Cadbury plant it is now closing. (Mar 8 2010)

E.On is latest to cut gas prices
E.on says it will cut gas bills by 6% from 31 March, saving almost two million customers an average of £42 a year. (Mar 8 2010)

Aer Lingus delays profit figures
Aer Lingus, the Irish airline, has delayed plans to unveil its results Tuesday after cabin crew rejected a cost-cutting proposal. (Mar 8 2010)

Business bodies urge faster cuts
The CBI wants the Budget to deliver plans to balance public finances by 2016 - two years earlier than currently planned. (Mar 8 2010)

Portugal unveils austerity plans
Portugal announces a series of new austerity measures as it seeks to avoid a debt crisis like the one in Greece. (Mar 8 2010)

AIG selling second overseas unit
AIG sells an insurance group to rival MetLife for $15.5bn, as it continues to raise funds to pay off a federal bail-out. (Mar 8 2010)

Out of tune: Elgar £20 note to be phased out
The £20 note featuring composer Sir Edward Elgar is to be withdrawn from circulation by the Bank of England in June. (Mar 8 2010)

Most expensive street to live on gets £400k dearer
The housing market may have been fluctuating, but the most exclusive street in England and Wales remains unchanged. (Mar 8 2010)

Bovis turns profit on thin sales
Homebuilder Bovis returned to profit in 2009, but sales were far below pre-recession levels, the company says. (Mar 8 2010)

Shell in joint bid for gas firm
Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina launch a joint takeover bid for Australian liquefied natural gas group Arrow Energy. (Mar 8 2010)

Virgin Money to charge customers
Virgin Money says it will charge customers a fee for current accounts when the firm launches banking services later this year. (Mar 7 2010)

F for finance
Formula One starts new season with budget pressures (Mar 7 2010)

Chilean aftermath
Counting the cost of the earthquake on the economy (Mar 7 2010)

Lada rubles
Russia hopes a scrappage scheme will lift car industry (Mar 7 2010)

Iceland rejects bank payback plan
Voters in Iceland overwhelmingly reject proposals to repay debts to the UK and the Netherlands in the wake of the Icesave collapse. (Mar 6 2010)