Eat Out From £5

Chairman quits as Blue Oar throws in towel

Blue Oar conceded defeat in the fight for control of the City stockbroker, which was led by Edward Vandyk, its founder

Business big shot: Martin Gilbert

The 53-year-old Scotsman capped a comeback with a £250million deal to buy parts of Credit Suisse Asset Management

Brokers like Blue Oar must merge to survive

With share prices of British companies falling, small stockbrokers are finding that their income is simply evaporating

Lyondell asks to pay non-US creditors first

Bankrupt chemicals company has asked a US court for permission to pay foreign creditors $350 million

RBS talks to sell £2bn stake in Bank of China

Steven Hester, the bank's new chief executive, is reported to have met executives from the Chinese bank and regulators

Banks to sell Merckle UK interests

Phoenix Group, owner of UK's third-largest drugs distribution business, and Rowlands pharmacy chain put on the market

We need action on banks, not rate cuts

Cutting interest rates to 1.5 per cent or less would be an historic move, but the impact on the economy would not be great

Carmakers seek banks' cash amid bailout fears

With the Treasury's proposed rescue programme now in doubt, car companies are going directly to the banks for help

Barclays cuts staff serving medium-sized firms

Up to 150 jobs are to go from Barclays Commercial Bank, the division that serves medium to large companies in Britain

Times MPC split over how to fight recession

Fears that the power of interest rates to boost economy is failing has divided members over how Bank of England should react

Santander to miss targets over Madoff

Spain’s biggest bank predicted to miss its €10bn profit target after compensating clients on Madoff and Lehman bonds

Sport Media says it has broken loan covenant

Publisher of the Daily Sport says that it is seeking to remedy the breach through further discussions with finance providers

FSA may extend rule on short-selling disclosure

City regulator is examining whether to extend disclosure of short-selling to all 3,489 companies publicly traded in the UK

FSA fortifies campaign to stop insider deals

Neil Rollins, of West Yorkshire, has been charged with five counts of insider dealing and four counts of money laundering

Merckle, the penny-pinching billionaire

Breaking point came when Adolf Merckle realised that to save the remnants of his fortune, he would have to sell Ratiopharm