News : British Broadcasting Corporation

Taxi booking firm Uber has apologised for raising fare prices during a deadly cafe siege in Sydney last week, saying its decision was wrong.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it has spent more than $160m fighting fake goods on its websites over the last two years.

The market for vintage cars is booming as wealthy investors seek more unusual places to invest their money.

The US president welcomes a decision by Sony to screen a comedy about North Korea - which had been pulled following a cyber-attack and threats - in some US cinemas.

Meet the insects that made Christmas

Asian shares opened higher on Wednesday, taking the lead from Wall Street where shares closed at a record level overnight.

How the places of worship mix prayer with finance

Falling oil prices and questions over the euro

Ten million householders who use pre-payment energy meters should be able to postpone their debt, says the charity Citizens Advice.

New figures show that the UK's economy grew more slowly over the past year than previously thought.

North Korea satire The Interview will screen in some US cinemas at Christmas, Sony says, days after it pulled the film following a major cyber attack.

In the midst of Russia's current currency crisis, a government senator has been advising the country's women to use beetroot instead of imported lipstick.

The Russian government has instructed five firms to limit foreign currency reserves as part of efforts to stabilise the economy.

According to the Royal Mail Disney toys have overtaken Lego as the most wanted for Christmas this year.

The RBS banking group has withheld bonuses from 18 of the staff it is investigating for their possible role in rigging the foreign exchange market.

The Dow Jones rose above 18,000 for the first time in early trade, after figures show the US economy growing at its fastest pace for 11 years.

The US economy grows at an annual rate of 5% in the third quarter, its fastest pace for 11 years, official figures suggest.

Nasa's "X-ray eye", designed to study distant galaxies and black holes, has turned its attention to our own star and snapped a remarkable portrait.

The number of homes being sold in the UK fell below 100,000 a month in November for the first time in a year, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

The UK economy has grown more slowly in the past year than previously thought, at 2.6% rather than 3%, official figures indicate.

Extremely cold temperatures have frozen parts of the Hukou waterfall on the Yellow River in north-west China.

The FTSE 100 continues its pre-Christmas rally, but outside the main index shares in chocolate maker Thorntons plunge by a quarter after it issues a profit warning.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, says the Opec cartel will not cut oil production even if the price falls to $20 a barrel.

Chocolate firm Thorntons warns that annual profits will fall this year because of poor sales in some supermarkets, partly due to supply problems.

Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok is sentenced to five years in jail and fined $64,440 (£41,327) for corruption.