Eurotunnel is in a fragile financial state and has warned that its continued survival depends on being able to restructure its debt mountain. It has been seeking to reduce its £4bn debt since last year.

WH Smith, the troubled high street bookseller and stationer, has reported a continued fall in underlying sales and said that it will no longer “chase unprofitable sales”, and that it would separate its retail High Street outlets from its news distribution arm.

High-tech American stock market Nasdaq has bought a 15% stake at £11.75 a share in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a deal worth £447.7m.

The average UK pensioner is almost twice as well off as they were in 1979, according to a report by medical insurer Clerical Medical (CM).

The Marks & Spencer (M&S) revival is continuing after it reported “strong” sales growth in the first three months of the year. Like-for-like sales grew 6.8% during the period and profits for 2005/6 are expected to be ahead of expectations in the £745m to £755m range.

The rate of increase in house prices slowed slightly in February, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The annual inflation rate was down from 4.3% in January to 3.6% in February.

Retail sales in the UK suffered their biggest drop since last July as cold weather and a late Easter hit the High Street. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that like-for-like sales fell 1.4% compared to the same time last year.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined insurer Royal Liver £550,000 for mis-selling with-profits policies to customers who had no “demonstrable” need for them and which exposed them to excessive investment risk.