Unemployment in Britain has increased by 131,000 to 1.92 million between September and November, the country's office for national statistics (ONS) has said. Public finances also deteriorated sharply in December, putting them on track for their worst year since records began after the Second World War, the ONS said.
The UK government's latest plan to counter the economic downturn by encouraging lending has been criticised, and sent banks' shares tumbling. Opposition MPs argued that the government's measures were inadequate and too many details remained unknown.
When last December the British government put on hold plans to build an airport on the mid Atlantic island of St Helena, local councillors spoke of their bitter disappointment. But now a number of St. Helena residents say they want to stay cut off from the rest of the world, reports the BBC.
The bloodbath in the British banking sector continued apace on Tuesday as Lloyds Banking Group joined Royal Bank of Scotland in suffering further devastating share losses.
Italian carmaker Fiat and US giant Chrysler have agreed to create a global strategic alliance, the companies said in a statement. Under the terms of the deal, Fiat will get a 35% stake in Chrysler. In return, the US firm will get access to Fiat's fuel-efficient vehicle technologies.It is hoped the agreement will lead to substantial savings for Chrysler.
United Kingdom deflation fears were heightened after official figures released on Tuesday showed the annual rate of inflation fell at its fastest pace in December since the recession of the early 1990s.
The United Kingdom unemployment will soar to 3.4 million as the financial crisis deepens, experts predicted ahead of official figures set to show the scale of the jobs crisis rocking the economy.
The Euro zone economy will shrink 1.9% in 2009 and grow by only 0.4% n 2010, the European Commission has forecast. The Commission said in a statement that the whole European Union was facing a deep and protracted recession.
The global economic crisis has cost Arab countries 2,500 billion US dollars in the last four months alone, according to Kuwait's foreign minister.
Three men with links to Sir Ernest Shackleton have reached the South Pole. Lt Col Henry Worsley, from Hereford, Will Gow, from Kent, and Henry Adams, from Suffolk, arrived on Sunday.