Two more retailers were on the brink of administration last night, putting thousands of jobs at risk after yesterday's third-quarter rent day forced them to throw in the towel.

The luxury brand Mulberry is pinning its turnaround hopes on new markets in the Far East and US after reporting a 28 per cent slump in annual profits.

Dwell, the troubled upmarket furniture retailer, is on the brink of administration, making it the latest high-street casualty and putting up to 200 jobs at risk.

The former world champion finished 12th in Canada

Results show averages just 3.91m viewers

Recovery hopes have received a further boost after figures revealed the gap between the UK's exports and imports dropped by more than expected to £2.6 billion in April.

The May figures represent the fourth consecutive monthly increase

The UK economy’s powerhouse services sector moved firmly on to the front foot in April, stacking the odds against a return to the printing presses by the Bank of England’s rate-setters next week.

Another dose of money-printing from the Bank of England looked off the agenda today after Britain’s powerhouse services firms produced their strongest growth since April  last year.

Spain's beleaguered economy is still gasping for air, declining for a seventh quarter in a row between January and March.

Bank lending to businesses is set to rise for the first time in four years as risk appetite starts to recover, handing a potential lifeline to smaller firms and the UK's growth prospects, experts have claimed.

Snoozebox is hoping the Silverstone Grand Prix and Glastonbury Festival will stop investors losing sleep over its profits, after the portable hotels company warned it would miss analysts' expectations for 2012.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, which eased fears of a worsening jobs market after a surprise stumble in job growth in March.