Running costs 'dictate car-buying'

Consumers have changed their car-buying decisions dramatically over the last six months, according to a poll. It is now running costs rather than reliability which are the most important thing for people buying vehicles, the survey published by AA Personal Loans found.

Barack Obama backs plea for Henry Paulson to extend bailout to car industry
Barack Obama, the US President-elect, has thrown his weight behind a plea to Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, to use some of his $700 billion (£444 billion) bailout fund to rescue America's car companies.

Andreas Whittam Smith: Lloyds and HBOS – a merger that should not go through
Ever since the Government decided to supply new capital to any British bank that required propping up, I have thought the proposed rescue of HBOS by Lloyds TSB was a nonsense. The merger is against the public interest, for it will substantially reduce competition in the provision of home loans.