Sweden in crisis talks over Saab
The Swedish government holds emergency talks with unions to prepare for the possible closure of Saab.

Kroenke near to Arsenal threshold
Stan Kroenke buys 25 more shares in Arsenal, moving closer to the threshold that would force him to make a takeover bid.

China loses media imports appeal
China loses an appeal to the world trade body against a ruling that called for it to stop restricting US film and music imports.

Copenhagen depresses carbon price
Carbon prices in Europe drop to a six-month low after carbon emissions targets agreed in Copenhagen disappointed traders.

China targeting 8% growth in 2010
China says it is targeting economic growth of 8% next year, despite the ongoing effects of the global downturn.

Dubai World briefs key creditors
Dubai World meets creditors, including executives from HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, to discuss its debt repayment plan.

Eurotunnel car services disrupted
Eurotunnel closes its car shuttle to new arrivals, but Eurostar hopes to resume a limited service on Tuesday.

China-Taiwan talks on trade ties
A top Chinese official arrives in Taiwan to discuss a free-trade pact some fear could undermine the island's sovereignty.

Japan's decline in exports slows
Japan's exports in November were down 6.2% from a year ago, the smallest decline in exports for 14 months.

LSE reveals takeover of Turquoise
The London Stock Exchange announces a deal to take over loss-making trading platform Turquoise.

India firms 'count Facebook cost'
Indian firms are losing productivity because office staff spend too long on social networking sites, a survey says.

Champions League riches increase
Football clubs in the Champions League have made on average 50m euros from this season's competition, research says.

FROM BBC SPORT >>
Watford saved from administration
Watford avoid the threat of administration after majority shareholder Lord Ashcroft agrees to repay former chairman Jimmy Russo £4.88m.

Woods loses key sponsorship deal
The giant consultancy firm Accenture ends its multi-million dollar sponsorship of scandal-hit golfer Tiger Woods.

Greek tragedy
Why Athens has incurred wrath of credit rating gods

Tunisian dates
The popular Christmas snack is boosting growth

Port in a storm
Portugal's wine makers aim at a younger market

Threadbare
Hard up Icelanders swap jet-set for knitting craze

Camp millionaire
US kids learn that making money is child's play

Bad weather keeps shoppers away
Retailers suffered a disappointing final weekend before Christmas due to bad weather, shopper numbers suggest.

'Fragile' UK recovery predicted
Growth in the UK economy is set to pick up gradually next year but the economic recovery will be "fragile", the CBI says.

City 'will be hurt by bonus tax'
London's role as a leading financial hub will be "damaged" by the new bonus tax, Barclays chief John Varley tells the BBC.

Finance firms escape bonus tax
Insurance companies, asset managers and stockbrokers will not be affected by the bank bonus tax

Ryanair pulls out of Boeing deal
Budget airline Ryanair confirms it has ended talks with Boeing over the purchase of 200 new aircraft.

Borders shops to close next week
The Borders bookshop chain will close all its branches in the UK on 22 December, according to administrators.

Europe strikes 'banana wars' deal
Europe has agreed a deal to cut tariffs on banana imports, signalling the end of the world's longest-running trade dispute.

S Korea in $10bn Ghana homes deal
A South Korean firm will build 200,000 houses in Ghana over the next six years in a $10bn deal, Korean officials say.

Oracle sees Sun deal in January
Oracle says it expects its purchase of Sun Microsystems to be approved by the European Union in January 2010.

Blackberry profit beats forecasts
The company that makes the Blackberry smartphone reports better-than-expected profits after record sales.

Japan pledges to 'beat deflation'
Japan's central bank promises to defeat deflation, as it announces that it will maintain interest rates at 0.1%.

NAB bids $12bn for Axa Asia unit
National Australia Bank (NAB) offers to buy Australian insurer Axa Asia Pacific, which is already the subject of a bid from a local rival.

Fine for Google over French books
A French court fines Google 300,000 euros and tells it to remove some titles from the archive of digital books it is creating.

Greek banks in ratings downgrade
Two leading Greek banks, Eurobank and Alphabank, have their credit ratings downgraded by Standard and Poor's.

Dubai aid 'was loan, not handout'
Abu Dhabi's last-minute $10bn bail-out of its UAE neighbour Abu Dubai was a loan, not a handout, it has emerged.

Citigroup in rift with Abu Dhabi
Citigroup says the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has filed a claim against it to stop a deal to buy $7.5bn of shares.

Indian regulator curbs Barclays
India's financial regulator suspends UK bank Barclays from dealing in products that allow foreign investors to buy Indian stocks.

Tata makes water filter for poor
The Indian industrial conglomerate Tata launches a new low-cost water purifier, aimed at the rural poor.

Mortgage lending 'falls by 10%'
Mortgage lending in the UK fell by 10% in November compared with the previous month, according to lenders.

Web stores warned on sales rules
Thousands of internet retailers may be breaking laws set up to protect their customers, says consumer group Which?

Elderly lose life savings in scam
Some elderly people have been pressurised into sending their life savings to the operators of a lottery scam.

Energy firms criticised in poll
Energy companies have come bottom of league for consumer confidence for the second year in a row, a watchdog says.