Business (bbc.co.uk)
- US recession ‘began last year’
The US recession began in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. - US factory output plummets again
US manufacturing activity fell in November to a fresh 26-year low, the latest Institute for Supply Management data shows. - World economy ‘weakest since 30s’
The United Nations says the world economy faces its worst downturn since the Great Depression. - Crisis fears hit European shares
European shares fall amid increasing concerns over the state of the world’s economy, mirroring a similar decline on Wall Street. - Sterling plunges against dollar
Sterling suffers its sharpest one day fall against the dollar since crashing out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992. - BayernLB will cut staff by 5,000
Bayern Landesbank has confirmed it will be cutting 5,600 of its 19,000 jobs in Germany and around the world, more than a quarter of its workforce. - Ryanair in new Aer Lingus offer
The budget airline Ryanair makes a fresh 748m euro ($950m; £619m) takeover offer for the Irish flag-carrier Aer Lingus. - TNK-BP’s under-fire boss resigns
BP’s Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, confirms that its under-fire chief executive Robert Dudley has resigned with immediate effect. - Oil prices fall after Opec stalls
Oil prices drop more than $3 after producers’ group Opec declined to cut output at its weekend meeting. - GM tries to block tracking of its private jets after Washington flap
General Motors asks the US aviation authorities not to track its private jets after being criticised for extravagance as it asked for government help.
