ALL BUSINESS: Bankers see increasing numbers of homeowners who, though ...

It became the biggest victim of the high street spending crunch as chief executive Sir Stuart Rose revealed that his tills took 2.2% less than in the same quarter last year. City analysts said the drop in sales, which was far worse than expected, was 'nothing short of unacceptable'.

The shares immediately plummeted 18%, dropping 89p to 414.5p. It was the biggest one-day fall in M&S's share price for 19 years. M&S said sales of its non-food lines - mainly women's clothing - were down 3.2%, while food was 1.5% lower than at Christmas 2006.

Analysts said they were particularly shocked by the sliding food takings. It is a major blow for Sir Stuart's reputation as one of retail's most skillful bosses and the first time that the company has suffered a quarterly sales fall for more than two years. read more

In search of an insurance policy

A second aggressive rate cut in just over a week on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve failed to help Wall Street stocks, while the dollar came under pressure and gold set a record high.

The Fed cut both the Fed funds and discount rates by 50 basis points, to 3 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. That came after last week's inter-meeting 75bp reduction in the funds rate.

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Women in Busines

Struggling to connect with their delinquent customers, a group of six major mortgage lenders is teaming up with nonprofit groups to serve as a go-between.

As part of the program, borrowers who get behind on their payments will receive notice from a financial counseling service instead of the big, bad bank, said an executive with one of the lenders.

The plan is expected to be announced today by representatives of the Bush administration and the Hope Now coalition of lenders. Company officials could not speak publicly about the plan in advance of today's news conference in Washington.

Foreclosure typically begins at the 90-day delinquency mark, when borrowers receive a notice of default alerting them that they could lose their homes if they don't pay up. read more