The UK economy has suffered its biggest quarterly decline in 30 years, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Lending to households and businesses remains weak, according to Bank of England figures out today.

Mobile phone maker Vodafone is considering a bid for rival T-Mobile, according to a report in the Financial Times.

Free-to-view satellite service Freesat is to show the USA’s BET Awards on American Independence Day, July 4, in high definition.

DSG international reported a pre-tax loss of £140.4 million and saw total like-for-like sales dip nine per cent in the year to May 2.

Woolworths has returned as an online brand – and, unlike the stores the site is named after, it is carrying a full line-up of consumer electronics products.

Retail sales fell again in June according to figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The recession may be bottoming out in the world economy as a whole, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but for Britain and Europe the outlook is gloomier.

Comet saw its retail profits slump 76.5 per cent to £10.1 million in the year to April 30.

As expected, pay-sports broadcaster Setanta has gone into administration.

Panasonic said it has become aware of a performance issue related to using the auto sensor programme to cook a whole chicken on three of its combination ovens.

Retailers are being urged to stay on top of TV purchase registrations or risk prosecution or a fine of up to £1,000.

BSkyB and US sports broadcaster ESPN, which is expanding into Europe, are expected to be the front-runners as bids close today for the 46 live English Premier League 2009/10 season games that were taken from pay-sports broadcaster Setanta on Friday.

Record low interest rates have boosted the disposable income of UK homeowners by 25 per cent.

Littlewoods Direct is to be rebranded Very and will concentrate on three main product categories - home and technology, fashion and mother and baby.

Digital switchover started on the Isle of Man this morning for viewers in the Douglas transmitter area.

Official figures show that retail sales in May were 0.6 per cent lower than in April and 1.6 per cent down on a year ago - and it is non-food stores that are taking the biggest hit.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said banks must not be allowed to grow so large that they become too big too fail and he has called for new powers to allow the Bank of England to police the banking system effectively.

Regulator Ofcom is to be given new powers to combat software piracy.

Lord Carter's Digital Britain report has put a further questionmark over the BBC's licence fee.

Lord Carter has gone ahead with plans to provide Britain with outdated technology at a speed akin to a snail's pace.

A three-fold increase in annual sales of DAB radios over the next three years is predicted by DAB technology firm Frontier Silicon now that a date for digital radio switchover has been set by Lord Carter's Digital Britain report.

Tesco has reported solid growth in its core UK business with like-for-like sales rising 4.3 per cent in the 13 weeks to May 30.

Troubled pay-sports broadcaster Setanta reopened its website to new subscribers today as it faces a deadline from the English Premier League to pay the £30 million its owes by Friday or lose its matches.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is giving a whole new meaning to the phrase customer-power.

Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, who was chief executive of Kingfisher when it owned Woolworths, is reported to be working with the store group’s former management on a plan to buy up to 200 of the high-street chain’s former outlets.

Russian-born American billionaire Len Blavatnik has offered £20 million in exchange for a 51 per cent stake in pay sports TV operator Setanta, according to reports.

Emma Scott, managing director of free-to-view satellite service Freesat, won top prize in the media category of last night's First Women Awards in London.

Department store group John Lewis saw its sales figures dip by 2.9 per cent in the week to June 6.

Sports pay channel Setanta is reported to be in talks with a new investor who has emerged in the last 24 hours.

Sky News is set to be the first UK news channel to broadcast in high definition.

Royal Bank of Scotland is reported to be planning to move thousands of its small business customers to a separate division because, according to The Times, it cannot profit from them.

Pay-sports broadcaster Setanta has stopped accepting new customers while it works to secure its future.

Free-to-view satellite service Freesat has taken top spot in the best new brand or business category at the Marketing Society Awards for Excellence.

Three-quarters of UK homes will be online by the end of the year, according to a study by regulator Ofcom.

The fate of pay-sports provider Setanta is likely to be decided today as it struggles to raise money to pay for its rights deals.

It is in the interests of the banks themselves to ensure that businesses get the working-capital finance they need, said Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker.

The Government has expanded its £5 billion trade credit top-up insurance scheme.

The subscription area of troubled pay sports broadcaster Setanta’s website is “down for routine maintenance”, according to broadcasting website Digital Spy.

The value of retail sales dipped 0.8 per cent in May and rose by only 0.8 per cent on a total basis, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Reports suggest that sports broadcaster Setanta could be forced into administration this week if it cannot find the money to pay for its rights deals.

Britain’s small businesses have delayed paying nearly £2.5 billion in taxes in a bid to survive the recession, according to The Observer.

"Outrageous" is how retail chiefs described an amendment to take away retailers' right to vote on new business taxes for London's Crossrail link.

The BBC Trust has asked the BBC Executive to provide more information about its plans to bring internet protocol TV (IPTV) to traditional TVs after its initial consultation was criticised by satellite broadcaster Sky and advertising agencies.

Amstrad founder and BBC The Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar has been appointed enterprise tsar in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle.

Carphone Warehouse is to demerge from its TalkTalk fixed line and broadband operations by July 2010 "at the latest".

Exceptionally warm weather kept shoppers away according to weekly figures from department store group John Lewis.

As expected, interest rates were kept on hold at 0.5 per cent for the third month in a row at the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today.

Tesco is now offering free laptop and netbook computers with its mobile broadband packages.

Department store group Debenhams is to raise £323 million from the sale of new ordinary shares to cut its debts.

Indesit bosses will confirm at a meeting of workers called for this afternoon that the washing machine plant in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, is to close at the end of next month.

The British Retail Consortium's trading arm, BRC Trading, is looking for a new chief executive officer.

Consumer confidence is growing, according to the Nationwide consumer confidence index.

The credit crunch appears to be easing for businesses, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The positive mood in the financial markets should not lull anyone into a false sense of security. warned the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) as it urged the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to intensify the pace of quantitative easing when it meets on Thursday.