The books and stationery retailer WH Smith is seeing a "north south divide" at its travel shops, according to its chief executivem Kate Swann, as it delivered a small rise in half year profits to £64m.

HMV has put its Waterstone's chain of bookshops and the Canadian arm of its business up for sale as the struggling entertainment retailer opts for a break-up to cut its £130m debt.

To survive, Waterstone's is planning to copy the very independent stores it put out of business. Will it work in the age of Amazon? All customers want is the personal touch, argues Tim Walker

WH Smith bolstered its high-street estate yesterday with the acquisition of 22 stores from the administrator of British Bookshops and Stationers.

Whenever I venture into a WH Smith shop, my heart sinks as the assistants are so miserable, their service sloppy and finding even the plainest of envelopes is a chore.

Cookson; System C Healthcare

Curious goings-on at WH Smith, which is seeking permission from shareholders to make political donations of up to £100,000. The newsagent group's current policy is not to make any political donations at all, which is in tune with the prevailing mood among large corporations, most of which stopped making such gifts some years ago. The request is not going down well with corporate-governance groups – Pirc, for example, is urging shareholders to say no. But Smiths insists the term "political" is poorly defined in law and that it needs this vote to be sure some of the charitable donations it makes do not fall foul of the law. There will be no political donations, it promises.

Is he a new man?

WHSmith, the book and stationery retailer, touted a "resilient" performance since September, but underlying sales fell at both its travel and high street divisions.

Something old, something new, something for the lawyers too

Kate Swann, the chief executive of WH Smith, who is credited with turning around the once struggling retailer, is set to take home a £4m bonus this year after hitting a number of performance targets.

Tim Waterstone, the founder of the bookshop chain that bears his name, is reportedly mulling a bid to buy back the stores if the current owner, HMV, fails to improve the business by next year. The bid would be valued at £100m or more.

The retail and online weddings firm Confetti has become the latest wedding business to collapse into administration, potentially hitting the plans of up to 1,100 couples for their big day.

Marks & Spencer has unveiled a former director at WHSmith as its finance director, ending a three month search. Alan Stewart, who is currently the finance director at Awas, the private equity-owned aircraft leasing company, will join by the end of October.