Competition in Britain's banking industry may be a cut-throat business, but it is heart-warming to note that there is still a sense of brotherhood.

Former V&A chief says contracts should be reviewed in the wake of Middle East instability

Peter Jones, the star of the BBC's Dragons' Den, is looking for a private equity partner to join him to invest up to £500m in a well-known but struggling UK brand.

Energy boost

Cella Energy has been named the 2011 winner of the Shell Springboard Awards, which support small businesses with ideas for combating climate change.

Getting your home ready for Christmas is about the little touches – those are the things that will help to make guests feel welcome," says Sarah Dare, from the seasonal-events department at Peter Jones, part of the John Lewis chain. "And it doesn't have to take much time." Well, that's good, because it's Christmas week – and my home looks like Scrooge's grotto.

Burying rubbish doesn't sound like the best solution to Britain's waste problems – but for decades landfill was regarded as the future. How wrong we were, says Kate Burt

A gaming website set up by an entrepreneurial teenager crashed last night after it was featured on the popular reality TV show Dragons' Den.

Gordon Brown leads the tributes at the funeral of 'one of the greatest parliamentarians'

Urban Notebook

John Lewis said its sales figures matched the improvement in temperatures last week as "pent-up customer demand" led to an 11.1% rise in turnover.

The managing director of John Lewis's Peter Jones department store keeps staff and shoppers motivated during the busy Christmas season

Concerns are growing for an elderly couple, Patricia Pugh, 67, and her 70-year-old husband Robert, who disappeared from their home in Risca, South Wales, at 9.40am on Saturday.

Mystery of a seven-year silence of the cuckoos

Much more can be done to cut carbon emissions from the disposal of rubbish, a senior adviser on waste management said today.