The government is asking the big six energy firms to hold prices until the middle of 2015, barring any major increase in wholesale fuel costs.

Rejuvenating town centres requires radical action on a scale not seen the building programmes of post war Britain, according to a major new report.

Australia blocks US conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland's (ADM) A$3.4bn ($3.1bn; £1.8bn) takeover of GrainCorp - its biggest grain merchant.

Consumer prices in Japan rise at the fastest pace in five years in October, suggesting policymakers' attempts to end years of deflation are working.

Argentina threatens oil businesses operating off the Falkland Islands with prison sentences, fines and confiscation of assets.

Prices of houses and flats have picked up strongly, according to figures from the Nationwide building society.

Mothers and fathers will be able to share up to a year of parental leave by April 2015, but one business group calls the plan a "nightmare".

The economic outlook for Spain is improving, says ratings agency Standard and Poor's, but it downgrades its rating for the Netherlands.