It's a littleknown and slightly ironic fact that when Lehman Brothers exploded last year it did so as the proud owner of 5000 pounds of yellowcake uranium: enough to make a nuclear bomb.

Britain's biggest banks would have to raise tens of billions more pounds to achieve complete independence from state support new research shows.

Book chain Borders is in talks over its future amid fears it will be put into administration this week.

Five years after first being ordered to by competition authorities Tesco has sold the site of a former Coop store it purchased and then knocked down in an apparent attempt to stave off a challenge to its own nearby hypermarket.

BlackRock one of the world's largest fund managers is set to invest £20m into the UK's fastest growing independent hospital operator.

The Supreme Court may ring the death knell for free banking this week with a final ruling on whether banks have been charging unfair overdraft fees.

Critics have accused Sir David Walker of avoiding the issue of bankers' pay by sticking to his earlier proposals and rejecting calls for the names of top earners to be published.

Flood claims in Cumbria and Scotland could cost the insurance industry up to £100m the Association of British Insurers has warned.

Richard Lambert director general of the CBI has called for the creation of a new breed of institution to finance smaller businesses after a survey by the lobby group found that credit is still hard to secure.

Leading water companies are facing the threat of rights issues and dividend cuts ahead of a landmark ruling by Ofwat this week.

Landlords of troubled sportswear retailer Blacks Leisure are expected to support a rescue deal for the outdoor clothing retailer that will save more than 4000 jobs.

Nestle the Swiss food giant is reported to be weighing its options over a possible bid for Cadbury as the battle for control of the UK chocolate maker intensifies.

When Sir David Walker publishes his final recommendations this week for a farreaching shakeup of the governance of British banks all eyes will once again be on how the failings of our financial system can be repaired and avoided in

Expect some seatsquirming at the CBI as Lord Turner FSA chairman unveils his regulatory game plan

Greece is disturbingly close to a debt compound spiral. It is the first developed country on either side of the Atlantic to push unfunded welfare largesse to the limits of market tolerance.

Last week's official retail sales figures for October suggested that consumers are continuing to defy the gloomsters.

Former mercenary Tony Buckingham is poised for an £80m bonanza in a landmark deal by his company Heritage Oil that will be announced imminently.

Dame Clara Furse is set to join the international board of Nomura the Japanese bank in a move that will mark her return to the City after leaving the helm of the London Stock Exchange.

The new chairman of Network Rail has admitted that the company is widely perceived as "arrogant" needs fresh blood at board level and must address its controversial bonus scheme.

Major energy and utility companies including EDF Centrica and International Power have decided not to send delegations to next month's Copenhagen summit which global leaders now admit is unlikely to reach an agreement on new measures to tackle climate change.