Leading supermarkets and consumer goods businesses are facing the threat of heavy fines after the competition watchdog confirmed it had found evidence of companies sharing pricing plans.

A basic requirement of development is having enough to eat. As food prices rise, progress in many countries is being threatened. But while eradicating extreme hunger is among the Millennium Development Goals' challenges, also rising up the agenda is pressure to improve nutrition and guarantee fair prices and decent working conditions for those in the food supply chain. In all these issues, business has a role to play.

From the branches of a tree in a nursery in Ghana's Ashanti region hangs a collection of black polythene bags, each containing the seeds of the allenblackia tree. While they are not much to look at, the bags are a vital piece of a puzzle that will help Unilever develop a new source of oil for soap and spreads while also reducing poverty among African farmers.

The scare over Chinese dairy products reached Britain today as Tesco announced it was removing milk sweets from its shelves as a precautionary measure.

Strong sales of food and fewer insurance claims for flood damage have helped drive half-year profits at the Co-operative Group to a record level.

A reformed banking industry would treat customers fairly, pay bosses less and shun complicated financing

The US government has yielded to an outcry over multimillion-dollar Wall Street pay packets by agreeing to impose limits on the remuneration of senior bankers who benefit from a $700bn bail-out of financial institutions.

Dame Julia Cleverdon, vice president of Business in the Community, was awarded an honorary degree by Harper Adams College on Friday 18 September. The college has been named as the UK's Best University College in the Sunday Times University Guide 2008, for the second year running.

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