Round-up: Business confidence slumps to 30-month low

As business confidence plummets to a 30-year low, Prime Minister David Cameron sticks to his austerity guns whilst leader of the opposition Ed Miliband calls on the government to withdraw ‘punishing’ tax changes….here’s our roundup of the top stories in the nationals.

China has stressed it will not be a "saviour" to Europe as President Hu Jintao embarks on an official visit to the continent that will take in this Thursday's crucial G20 summit in Cannes. MORE...

The multi-billion pound public sector pension deficit should be plugged by the creation of a sovereign wealth fund that would back a radical programme of infrastructure investment, pensions expert Edward Truell has said. MORE...

Ed Miliband will on today flesh out his support for producer rather than "predator" capitalism by calling on the government to withdraw tax changes he claims will punish up to 200,000 businesses that invest for the long term. MORE...

Business confidence has slumped to a 30-month low before crucial GDP figures on Tuesday that are expected to show that the UK economy is slipping towards recession. MORE...

Human rights groups and NGOs have accused HSBC bank of colluding in a campaign of intimidation which they say is being waged against them by Egypt's ruling military council. MORE...

Brussels last night called for a global plan to bolster the world economy ahead of a ‘high stakes' G20 summit in Cannes. MORE...

David Cameron today has brushed aside calls to revise the government's austerity programme, despite fears that official growth figures will show the recovery is stalling. MORE...

The Japanese government has intervened in the currency market to weaken the yen after it hit a post-war high. MORE...