Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, will not pass on any further cuts to the Bank of England base rate to customers with tracker mortgages, The Times has learnt.

The FTSE 100 is almost certain to complete its worst-ever annual performance today, reports the Telegraph and FT.

Trustees of the HBOS pension scheme are considering asking a judge to set aside the bank's proposed acquisition by Lloyds TSB until "appropriate arrangements" are made to guarantee that the merged banking group will stand behind the fund, which has an estimated shortfall of £3bn-£5bn.

More than half a million jobs will be axed in the coming 12 months, making 2009 the worst year for job losses for two decades. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is predicting that as many as 600,000 staff face redundancy in 2009 alone, taking the unemployment total to 2.8 million, says the Independent.

Investors in funds run by Bernard Madoff who have lost their money in what is alleged to be the world's biggest financial fraud may also be made to repay any profits that they made to US liquidators.

Centrica may reduce the £3.1bn offer that it has made to EDF for a 25% stake in British Energy after European regulators placed strict conditions on the French group's takeover of the nuclear generator.

Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, has agreed to inject "tens of millions" of pounds into the British car company to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis, while the government continues to consider the case for a taxpayer-funded bail-out, reports the FT.

Ministers are considering a direct government loan of several hundred million pounds to Jaguar Land Rover, the Midlands carmaker whose sales have been wiped out by the credit crunch.

Sterling dipped closer to parity against the euro, with the single currency now worth more than 95p for the first time ever. The pound's fall came amid fast-growing disquiet about the fate of the UK economy and consumer sentiment next year, reports the Telegraph.

Merger talks between British Airways and Qantas have collasped with neither side able to agree over key terms, says the Times.The airline companies have announced that after detailed discussions, they could not come to agreement over the merger terms.

US interest rates were cut to a historic low of virtually zero as America resorted to drastic action in its battle to stave off a crippling recession and deflation.

The biggest shareholder in PartyGaming, the UK-listed online gambling company, has agreed to pay US authorities $300m and plead guilty to a charge relating to illegal web betting in the most prominent prosecution so far in the US clampdown on internet gambling, reports the FT.

Boeing and Airbus are preparing to pump the world aviation market with billions of dollars worth of loans to carriers in 2009 to try to offset what is expected to be "a very, very tough" year for aircraft manufacturers.

Ministers are set to unveil a limited aid package for beleaguered carmakers this week as fears grow over tens of thousands of job losses in the industry.

A $14bn emergency bailout for US car makers collapsed in the Senate on Thursday night after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts, reports the FT and Times.

Woolworths' administrator will launch a closing down sale at the stricken retailer, casting doubt on last-ditch bids to save the chain by Sir Geoff Mulcahy, the former Kingfisher chief executive, and former Tottenham Hotspur vice-chairman David Buchler, says the Telegraph.

Nervous investors on Tuesday paid for the privilege of owning US government debt, pushing interest rates on three-month Treasury bills to negative levels for the first time in postwar history, reports the FT.