Peter Mccusker

Games put HMV in party mood as it transforms

HIGH street retailer HMV has avoided the gloom on the high street as it said demand for games such as Grand Theft Auto and Wii Fit had helped lift sales. Read

Bullying an issue at work

ONE in seven people has been bullied at work, with higher-paid staff most likely to have problems. Read

Fuel cost puts more on buses

THE FTSE 100 index ended the volatile week 121.40 points lower at 5240.70. Read

Sales increasing at John Lewis

DEPARTMENT store chain John Lewis said sales rose 1.6% after a strong week for its electricals and home technology department. Read

Meals fail to satisfy pub chain

PUBS chain JD Wetherspoon has reported a fall in annual profits after stronger food sales failed to offset a decline in the drinks trade. Read

THE FTSE yesterday recorded its biggest single-week drop in six years after dropping 121.4 points on the day, closing at 5240.7, and tumbling 336.7 points across the course of the week.

Global economic concerns – including worse-than-forecast US jobless figures and an 8.3% reported UK food-price increase – hit bank stocks, while miners and commodity producers were hit by falls in metal and oil prices. Read

Nuclear takeover may be on again

THE stalled takeover of nuclear power firm British Energy by France’s EDF could be back on within weeks. Read

MEDIA

Buy-back hits right wavelength Read

Almost million more fly easyJet

NO-FRILLS airline easyJet says it carried nearly 900,000 more passengers in August than a year ago. Read

Students try their hand at building

A GROUP of students are coming to the end of a construction course that has tested their hand at everything from bricklaying to cement mixing. Read

Engineers build on strengths

ENGINEERING company Chieftain has published impressive half-year results and said it is close to securing a major contract which should “significantly” boost turnover and create jobs in Tyneside and Teesside. Read

Car parts business is sold

A HEALTH entrepreneur is proof the deal market is by no means exhausted after buying a car parts business. Read

News 34, 35

Nicholas Craig 34 Read

THE FTSE 100 yesterday closed 137.6 points down at 5362.1 following a day of drastic hits for financials and miners.

On a sparse winners’ list shares in consumer goods conglomerate Unilever surged 91p to close at 1581p after the company named outsider Paul Polman as chief executive. Read

HOTELS

Whitbread wins in the value stakes Read

Southern Cross shares on the up

AFTER a turbulent day’s trading the UK stock market ended the session in the red as the FTSE 100 Index lost 137.6 points and closed at 5362.1. Read

£10m shot in the arm for crisis firms

AN emergency £10m economic “shot in the arm” fund has been launched to help hundreds of North East firms hit by the economic slowdown. Read

Hope for future as food inflation slows

THERE was a glimmer of hope on the inflation front yesterday as high street data showed the rocketing rate of food inflation slowed markedly last month. Read

£10m to help firms thrive in doldrums

NORTH EAST businesses are to be given support worth £10m to help them deal with the economic slowdown. Read

Award firm lands £8m contract to secure jobs

THE reigning Journal North East Company of the Year has landed an £8m contract – securing the jobs of hundreds of workers until 2016. Read

Author Profile

Peter Mccusker is deputy business editor at the Journal. Peter, a former Durham district reporter for The Journal, returned to the paper last year after a four-and-a-half year spell as news editor of the Hartlepool Mail.