Sales for the second quarter of 2008 (April to June) were down 0.3% representing a loss of £5.9m to retailers.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is calling on landlords to respond to the economic slowdown by accepting rents monthly rather than quarterly in advance, even on existing leases, where that is what businesses want. The BRC has estimated that the survival of this historic rents practice adds £145 million a year to retailers' costs.

More than half of Britain's employers plan to lay off staff in the coming months, according to KPMG survey. Of more than 200 senior executives from major companies questioned by KPMG, six out of ten said they were drawing up plans to cut costs, and more than half - 53% - said that they were likely to reduce headcount.

L'atelier des Chefs, where professional chefs teach good cooking, has opened the doors to its new cooking school in London. The classes are run at times and of a duration that fits into busy working lives, such as Cook and Run - a lunchtime class. The school has a shop stocked with products of well known brands where students ‘can try before they buy'. http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/.