The Redcar and Cleveland area is the most vulnerable place in England to the effects of austerity measures, according to research for the BBC's Newsnight programme.

Some banks are charging "eye-watering" rates of interest - as high as 819,100% - when their customers go over their overdraft limit, research shows.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgrades the long-term credit grades of a string of major banks including Barclays and HSBC.

Lloyds Banking Group is looking to "claw back" up to half of the £1.45m bonus it awarded its former chief executive, according to reports.

The government is to look again at the HS2 high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham, which could result in a new tunnel being built in the Chilterns.

India is reported to be suspending its plan to open up the retail market to global supermarket chains just days after approving the move.

One of the architects of the euro, Jacques Delors, says it was flawed from the start, as his plans for economic co-ordination were never followed.