* Consumers confidence has risen to its highest level for 18 months, but it will be 'a long slow climb out of recession for many customers', according to British Retail Consortium
* House prices have edged upwards for the third consecutive month in spite of signs of a slowdown in demand from new buyers, according to Hometrack
* Nearly a third of mid-sized companies expect trading conditions to worsen in the next 12 months, and more than half expect an improvement, according to Baker Tilley survey
* Growth in manufacturing confirms recovery in China
* OECD says UK is alone in pension fund slump
* Markets await Monetary Policy Committee moves over quantitative easing
* Abdullah Abdullah quits Afghan run-off election; Kazai's team says poll will still go ahead
* Ryanair signals halt in growth -- FT interview
* Wal-Mart eyes urban expansion in US
* Fivefold jump in European 'dark pools' trading since start of the year
* Business is set to gain much greater sway over Whitehall under a Conservative government, with corporate 'big hitters' being drafted in to help shake up departmental spending and transform the civil service -- FT
* The US Senate is close to producing draft legislation on financial regulation - but in a form that complicates the Obama administration's own plan for dealing with future crises
* The proportion of patients who pay for their own operations has tumbled by almost 30% since Labour took power in 1997
* Two London local authorities have pledge record-breaking council tax curbs
* Trouble flares in Niger delta as gas goes to waste
* Mirabaud Securities of Switzerland emerges as the unlikely leader in a league table of AIM stockbrokers
* British Airways fined £2.5 million for Canada cartel role
* Credit card offers to US consumers plunge 71%
* US drops demand for Israel settlement freeze
* Tory plans for austerity cuts could be a disaster, according to Fathom Consulting survey.
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London jewellers weigh Dubai crisis