Ron Sandler, chairman of Northern Rock, could offer no guarantees yesterday that the £100bn of taxpayers' money propping up the stricken lender was safe as he confirmed plans to cut 2,000 jobs - a third of the workforce.

Added: 2008-03-19

No cash guarantee as Rock axes 2,000 staff

Category: varial news

From soggy stodge to Michelin star - a food revolution sweeps Europe

Tourism and consumerism have helped transform east Europe's gastronomic map

Baugur sharpens focus on retail

The Icelandic investment group that owns a number of UK retailers including House of Fraser and Karen Millen has raised £430m from the sale of property and banking assets

Microsoft threatens to cut Yahoo! offer

Microsoft yesterday threw down the gauntlet to Yahoo! over their $40bn hostile takeover battle by setting the search engine operator a three-week deadline to reach a deal.