HSBC chairman Douglas Flint publicly apologised to shareholders yesterday for the bank's failings after it was fined �1.3 billion in December following a probe into its Mexican and stateside operations.

Households paid off �241m more mortgage debt than they borrowed in an effort to get on top of their debts. Before May last year, net lending had never been negative since the BBA started collecting the data in 1997.

Ms Lagarde, French finance minister at that time, now appears unlikely to be brought to trial in the case, lifting a cloud that had gathered over her position as leader of one of the world's top international institutions.

SSE and RWE npower have been given the go-ahead for a �1 billion offshore wind farm. Galloper, a 50:50 joint venture between the two utilities, has received development consent from the UK government for the 140-turbine site 16 miles off the Suffolk coast.

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, tackled the political debate surrounding Britain's EU membership on Thursday night, telling a City of London audience that Europe needed �a more European UK�.