Alistair Darling says new laws will be introduced in the next parliament to give savers more protection in light of the Northern Rock fiasco. By Graeme Wearden.

  Demand from first-time buyers has plummeted sharply, adding to widespread evidence that the housing boom could be over. By Angela Balakrishnan.

  BP to make thousands of redundancies, sell off some assets and implement an organisational shake-up. By Terry Macalister.

  Postal workers in London and Liverpool today took part in a second day of wildcat strike action, causing further delays to mail deliveries in a continuing dispute over new shift patterns.

  Madonna is leaving her lifelong record label Warner and is poised to sign a contract worth around $120m with concert promoter Live Nation. By Katie Allen.

  BCC calls on Bank of England to cut interest rates next month. By Ashley Seager.

  Closing market report: Leading shares moved to their highest level since the middle of June - and within a whisker of a seven year high - thanks to another strong performance from the miners. By Nick Fletcher.

  High street shake-up and push into travel pays off.

  Greenpeace puts full cost at £100bn as Eon insists there is moral imperative for new plants.

  Drive to the lower end of the market helps mobile phone manufacturer sell more handsets but slashes margins. By Graeme Wearden.

  Victorious consortium moves swiftly to consolidate its hold over Dutch bank as long-standing chief steps down with €28m payoff. By David Gow in Brussels.

  The listing of Sony's financial unit today failed to set the Tokyo Stock Exchange alight, but it experienced an encouraging first day on the bourse.

  US plane-maker faces the embarrassment of demands for compensation from disappointed airlines as launch of ultra-light aircraft is held up. By David Gow in Brussels.

  Nils Pratley: Sir Fred Goodwin's Royal Bank of Scotland is taking less than a third of the Dutch bank, but make no mistake: the chief executive's warrior spirits held the bidding consortium together.