HOWZAT!

LCH.Clearnet shines in clearing market

Roger Liddell took over an unglamorous and ailing business in 2006 and successfully turned it into a new, lean structure

Busy time for Accounting & Actuarial Discipline Board chief Cameron Scott

Poacher turned gamekeeper wants more ammunition as he steps up the battle against accountants who are breaking the rules

Weakest to suffer from return of stamp duty

The Midlands, Wales and Scotland will be most disadvantaged by the return of stamp duty on properties worth up to £175,000

Persimmon's orders for new homes swells by 50%

Britain's second largest housebuilder cuts its debt level as activity in the housing market continues to improve

Britain demands a bottle of the good stuff

Middle England’s love affair with fine wine is helping two of Britain’s biggest wine sellers to see off the recession

Asos blames postal strike as growth slips

The Royal Mail strike has thwarted sales growth at Asos, the online fashion retailer, in spite of contingency arrangements

GM hints that Ellesmere Port is safe

The troubled American carmaker has suggested it will not shut a UK plant employing 2,100 and says it is to repay $6.7bn in US government loans early

US gun sales shoot up amid crime fears

Buyers are concerned that rising unemployment will lead inexorably to higher crime rates

Ouch! Dentist chief is extracted

Founder and owner of James Hull Associates forced to step down after a bust-up with investors over his expenses

SFO drops investigation into founder of Merlin

Sir Christopher Evans, the biotech entrepreneur, will not be prosecuted over allegations concerning Merlin Biosciences

Steelmakers ask EU to bar BHP and Rio venture

Eurofer, representing Europe's biggest steel producers, wants anti-trust inspectors to block iron ore partnership

GM to repay $6.7bn in government bailout funds

The American carmaker reveals a smaller-than-expected loss in its first results since emerging from bankruptcy in July

Britain demands a bottle of the good stuff

Middle England’s love affair with fine wine is helping two of Britain’s biggest wine sellers to see off the recession

Britain demands a bottle of the good stuff

Middle England’s love affair with fine wine is helping two of Britain’s biggest wine sellers to see off the recession

Q&A: Google's online library

Google's new library will enable tens of thousands of British writers to profit as readers gain access to millions of works

Smith’s double blow after Reed reversal

Ian Smith, former chief executive of Reed Elsevier, did not enjoy the best of weeks after being dumped by the publisher

Falling demand gives energy industry a breather

Progress on badly needed new power generation plants for the UK has been hampered by need to move to low-carbon sources

Lonmin shares leap despite loss of $272m

Declining revenues, combined with high mining costs, push platinum producer to $272 million loss in year to September 30

OFT to investigate corporate insolvency fees

The watchdog is to begin an inquiry into the millions charged by accountants for winding up companies in administration

OFT to investigate the high cost of going bust

Watchdog launches inquiry into UK's corporate insolvency market over fears companies are paying too much to go bankrupt

Asos blames postal strike as growth slips

The Royal Mail strike has thwarted sales growth at Asos, the online fashion retailer, in spite of contingency arrangements

Christmas shoppers tipped to cut back

The amount that shoppers spend at Christmas is likely to fall by £535 million this year, the first fall in two decades

Paul Allen diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

The billionaire Microsoft co-founder has has begun chemotherapy, more than 25 years after he was treated for Hodgkin’s disease

Google backtracks on putting world’s books online

The search giant has cut in half its plans to become the world's biggest online library in a legal move to appease critics

UK to teach English in Bangladesh via mobile

BBC World Service scheme funded by the British Government will offer 50 million Bangladeshis a series of English lessons

Liberty Global enters Europe with Unitymedia

US-based cable television operator controlled by John Malone is buying Germany's second-largest cable operator for $3bn

All change: slum rail stations clean-up ordered

Official inspectors’ report calls for £50 million investment from the Government for emergency rebuilding programme

End of the line for rail travel

Surely the country that developed the first railways should aspire to an infrastructure that is worthy of the 21st century

Falling demand gives energy industry a breather

Progress on badly needed new power generation plants for the UK has been hampered by need to move to low-carbon sources

Smith’s double blow after Reed reversal

Ian Smith, former chief executive of Reed Elsevier, did not enjoy the best of weeks after being dumped by the publisher