Mark Milner

Bentley has unveiled its fastest, most powerful production car ever, which it has tagged “the extreme Bentley”.

The crisis facing the world's car industry deepened as Toyota revealed it was on course to record its first operating loss in more than 70 years.

President elect Barack Obama has only 100 days to save the US auto industry, write David Gow and Mark Milner.

The 100 000th Land Rover Freelander 2 recently rolled off the company's production line at Halewood on Merseyside, north west England.

Earlier this week BHP Billiton played down fears that the boom, which has driven commodity prices to record levels, could turn to bust.

It is too soon to call an end to the oil price crisis that has engulfed global energy markets in the past year, the West's oil watchdog has warned.

Global warming will send Asia's social and economic progress into reverse unless action is taken to tackle climate change, according to a report released on Monday. Wealthy countries should slash greenhouse gas emissions and help Asian countries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by promoting and investing in sustainable and renewable energy across the region, according to the report, entitled Up in Smoke?

Ford is expected to draw up a shortlist of preferred bidders for Jaguar and Land Rover this month, with half a dozen companies still in the race to buy two of Britain's most prestigious car marques. The car-maker said it hoped to reach a conclusion either by the end of the year or by early 2008.

Most people cannot imagine Spain without bullfights, but there are growing signs that the country's centuries-old fiesta nacional (national celebration) is on the decline. Not only are young people losing interest in the glittering and bloody spectacle, but even some of the authorities are beginning to feel embarrassed about this ''art''.

Mittal Steel this week played down suggestions that it could keep a minority stake in bid target Arcelor if its hostile â,¬24-billion takeover bid fails, claiming it was confident its offer would win shareholder backing and see off Arcelor's plans to merge with Russia's Severstal.

Britain's hard-pressed manufacturing base received a new blow on Tuesday when French car-maker PSA Peugeot-Citroën said it was pulling out of the United Kingdom, closing its Ryton car factory at Coventry in the West Midlands with the loss of 2 300 jobs. The news was received with dismay by trade unions and local business leaders.

If consumers in Warsaw are wary of the impact of the single market on their wallets, should Britain also be wary of the more grandiose visions of a vast trade empire of 450-million people? The population of the EU will increase by about a fifth — but its economic might will increase by somewhere between 4% and 6%.