The prime minister is this week expected to back a plan to help boost growth by cutting employment red tape.

Labour's Ed Balls warns the world economy faces a "catastrophe" unless Germany abandons pressure on eurozone countries to cut public spending.

US President Obama wraps up a G8 summit saying that leaders agree economies must focus on jobs and growth to boost recovery.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ends a hectic week by getting married to long -time girlfriend Priscilla Chan in a surprise ceremony at his home.

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The leaders of the G8 group of the world's most powerful economies say they want debt-stricken Greece to remain in the eurozone.

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Spanish energy giant Repsol cancels a contract to provide gas to Argentina, in a continuing row after Buenos Aries nationalised one of its subsidiaries.

Greek officials say Germany's Chancellor Merkel has suggested a euro referendum, but Berlin denies the report.

Facebook shares ended their first day of trading at $38.23, barely above the company's initial pricing of $38.

Facebook shares end a volatile first day of trading at $38.23, barely above the company's initial pricing, having initially jumped more than 10%.

Spain's Repsol oil company says a first attempt to find oil off Cuba's northern coast has been unsuccessful.

Sierra Leone's football league resumed on Friday, less than a week after suspending operations because of a shortage of funds.

The EU Commission and European Central Bank are making contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the euro, an EU commissioner says.

Shares in internet giant Yahoo rise 5% on reports that it is close to selling its valuable stake in Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce company.

The London Stock Exchange bucks the economic turmoil to deliver a better-than-expected rise in annual profit.

EU Economic Commissioner Olli Rehn has said the eurozone is taking "all neccessary action in order to overcome" the debt crisis.

Spain, feeling fragile, looks to Germany for help

Charles Green says administrators at Rangers have told Ticketus they are terminating its contract over future ticket sales.

A notorious Belfast prison that held IRA inmates during the worst of the city's sectarian troubles is to be transformed into a whiskey distillery.

JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon will appear before a Senate committee to explain the bank's $2bn trading loss on a failed hedging strategy.

A study suggests public sector debt will be pushed up by £100bn over next two decades by higher university fees.

Glentoran's cash flow crisis is expected to be eased by a loan from the Irish Football Association.

The first pictures are released showing inside the "world's most expensive house", owned by the Ambani family in Mumbai.

A new report is recommending that the UK builds its own spaceport, to enable tourists to go into space.

The UK agrees a £50m trade deal to sell pork to China, the world's biggest market for pig meat, where parts such as offal and trotters are more popular.

Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie has said British business leaders should work harder to get the UK out of the current economic downturn.

The government has signed a multi-million pound deal to export British pork to China.

A report published by the National Audit Office into the creation and sale of Northern Rock reveals that the government is likely to lose £2bn overall by the time all the assets are wound down. The BBC's business editor Robert Peston has the details.

Perth transport group Stagecoach is to buy parts of a US bus firm for about £100m, helping it expand its operations.

Pubs group Mitchells & Butlers reports a sharp slowdown in sales, saying the recent wet weather has led to fewer customers.

Chinese property prices continued to fall during April after the government kept policies in place to curb speculation.

The US says it will impose import tariffs of about 30% on Chinese solar companies, saying China is flooding it with subsidised products.

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Private rents in England and Wales went up by 0.5% in April, according to letting agency group LSL Property Services.

Asking people to reveal financial information to their partners is legal, HM Revenue & Customs says, despite claims it breaks confidentiality rules.

The taxpayer could lose about £2bn once the assets of collapsed bank Northern Rock are wound down, the National Audit Office estimates.

Ratings agency Moody's cuts the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, as shares in struggling lender Bankia fell another 14%.

David Cameron says it was "more dangerous to stay silent than to speak out" - and insists there will be no retreat on deficit reduction.

Gas and electricity price rises at the end of last year are expected to have pushed 400,000 more households in England into fuel poverty.

Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port car plant will build a new Astra car in a deal that means huge investment and the creation and support of thousands of jobs.

The cost of borrowing on the international money markets rise sharply for Spain as investors fear further financial turmoil in Europe.

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The impact of a eurozone member leaving the bloc would certainly hit Britain’s economy and affect banks largely through indirect exposure to Europe

A big capital outlay is needed to keep attracting visitors at attractions around the UK in the face of dwindling consumer spending

Field Fisher Waterhouse and Lawrence Graham said they were considering a tie-up that would put the new entity among the top 25 law firms in the UK

Potent white spirit customarily used to toast business deals will arrive next month, despite westeners having yet to acquire a taste for it

Deferred prosecution agreements offer chance to overhaul interaction between prosecutors, defendants and judges in England and Wales

Outlook worse than earlier analysis which predicted the government would break even on its investment in the mortgages lender, audit office says

Edinburgh, Manchester and other regional cities help companies take advantage of lower costs, report shows

Shareholders revolt reflects simmering discontent despite founder and chairman Sir Bill Gammell’s £3.5m bonus being scrapped in January

Group to record first fall in full-year profit in three years, but chief Marc Bolland could still take home £6m under deal he signed when he joined

US carmaker reaches a deal with its workers and will invest £125m in the Cheshire plant to build the new model of its Astra compact car

UK is ‘moving in the right direction’, says PM, insisting he will not “blow the budget on more spending” to try to stimulate the economy

The financial watchdog is casting its net across three continents and has asked headhunters to help find a replacement for Margaret Cole

A committee of MPs has welcomed the rise in numbers but questioned the quality and duration of some schemes

The UK agriculture minister is heading to Beijing to put the finishing touches to a breakthrough trade deal offering £50m of pork sales

Solicitor-general is to bring plan to parliament which would see companies pay large fines in exchange for suspension of criminal case

The long-running children’s show is being moved off BBC1 as part of a shake-up aimed at making savings of £700m a year

Four of the top five officials are set to leave in a spate of departures that will strip the department of its most experienced professionals

International debate is red-hot with estimates of effects of austerity on growth, but UK inflation report did not address the issue of how these might apply here

Jaguar Land Rover continues to ramp up production of Evoque ‘baby Range Rover, at Halewood, which was threatened with closure a decade ago

Unemployment in the UK has fallen unexpectedly by 45,000 to 2.63m while annual average earnings growth has slowed to 0.6 per cent