London has seen a surge in building work in the past six months, despite the UK's slide back into recession as developers look to cash in on a shortage of office space, according to new research.

The UK's biggest independent cinema chain, Apollo, is thought to be close to a sale to larger, private equity-owned rival Vue.

Failures of big names on the high street this year throw 10,000 people out of work

The ex-mining town of Glyncoch, South Wales, is the unlikely benefactor of a "crowd-funding" movement that harnesses private funding for community building projects. After spending seven years chasing state cash for a £792,000 community centre, residents used a new crowd-funding website to raise the money.

The Bank of England is to spread its empire from Threadneadle Street to Moorgate as it decides on a home for the new City regulator.

The major challengers to the big four accountants have told the Competition Commission (CC) that the audit market for listed companies must be opened up for the good of British business.

It remains to be seen whether Long Run can go to Newbury on Saturday, and Oscar Whisky may yet end up running on the all-weather at Kempton the previous day. But at least Nicky Henderson appears to have guaranteed himself one key Cheltenham Festival trial this weekend, having yesterday committed Captain Conan to a race at Leopardstown on Sunday, when the weather forecast promises at least half a banquet, after a week of very cold gruel.

The London-listed mining behemoths Xstrata and Glencore are to stage a £50bn merger, raising hopes that the market for corporate megadeals could at last be recovering.

The London-listed mining behemoths Xstrata and Glencore are to stage a £50bn merger in a move that raised hopes the market for big corporate megadeals could at last be recovering.

The London-listed mining behemoths Xstrata and Glencore are to stage a £50bn merger in a move that raised hopes the market for big corporate megadeals could at last be recovering.

Facebook announced plans today to help thousands of small firms by offering free advertising to boost their chances of growing their business.

The administrators of Peacocks, the failed fashion chain, axed nearly half of its head office staff yesterday as two more retailers joined the list of high street casualties.

Despite the growth in the alternatives to scheduled television more than 95 per cent of all television programmes watched in 2012 will be live or within a day of the original broadcast, according to Deloitte's latest Media and Technology report, released yesterday.

A deal has been agreed to save most of the Barratts shoe chain but at the cost of some 680 jobs, administrators said today.