In a rare piece of good news for the retail sector, supermarket Morrisons has bought 49 Blockbuster stores from the DVD rental group's administrator, Deloitte.

The online retailer backed by the former bosses of Marks & Spencer and Tesco has bought a bike accessories website, in its latest acquisition ahead of a possible flotation this year.

The finance director of The Hut, which is backed by some of retail's biggest stars, has quit the online retailer abruptly after it ditched plans for a flotation this year.

The finance director of The Hut, which is backed by some of retail's biggest stars, has quit the online retailer abruptly after it ditched plans for a flotation this year.

Marc Bolland, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, has reaffirmed its commitment to the UK high street at a turbulent time for the sector, as the April bank holidays helped it deliver a solid first quarter.

The high street stalwart Marks & Spencer handed its outgoing chairman Sir Stuart Rose a pay packet worth £8m last year, although the sum paled against the almost £14m spent on luring Marc Bolland to the group.

He looks strangely familiar

Thorntons, the chocolatier, has issued a profits warning for the third time in 10 months and indicated that it may have to close more than 200 stores over the next four years.

The appointment of the next chairman of the BBC Trust, the broadcaster's governing body, could see short-listed candidates taking part in an X Factor-style popularity contest before a panel of MPs. The two front-runners are Lord Patten, former Tory party chairman, and Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics.

Handbag queen Anya Hindmarch is one of many business celebrities offering up their brains for the Krug Mind Share auction at Sotheby's on 1 November to raise money for charities of their choice.

Sir Stuart Rose is to join a private-equity firm as an adviser in his first new role since he announced his departure from Marks & Spencer.

Insurance, eh. It's really a simple concept – you pay the company a premium, they cover your costs if the worst happens. What's made it look complex is a talent for obfuscation that is even now plumbing new depths. There was a real humdinger from Amlin, which does much of its business at Lloyd's of London, as it tried to explain why profits have been falling. "Downward rating pressures," it sniffs. In other words, premiums are getting cheaper. Surely a contender for this week's inexcusable jargon award. On a Monday.