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Outlook at fashion chain Next 'uncertain' in run-up to Christmas, company warns. By Julia Finch.

ITV's share price fell to an all-time low after it emerged the company wants BSkyB to sell its 17.9% stake. By Chris Tryhorn and Katie Allen.

The pound climbed to $2.10 for the first time since 1981 today, boosted by speculation that China was preparing to shift its foreign reserves out of dollars. By Graeme Wearden.

· King: 'No disagreement with chancellor' · Authorities knew savers had insufficient protection

Market report: London shares resumed their downward trek today, knocked by volatile oil prices, a tumbling dollar, jitters around banks and more anxieties on Wall Street. By Katie Allen.

Chain will open stores in Shanghai next year.

Virgin Media signals that era of upheaval marked by public rows with BSkyB is behind it as the cable TV company posts strongest customer growth in more than a year. By Katie Allen and Chris Tryhorn.

Price of litre of petrol tops £1 for first time in UK as oil surges on a North Sea storm. By Graeme Wearden.

Henkel, the maker of Schwarzkopf hair products, plans to cut thousands of jobs when it completes its £2.7bn acquisition of ICI's National Starch adhesives business early next year. By David Gow.

Record label Universal Music Classics & Jazz is making its entire catalogue available online without copy protection as part of an experiment to gauge fans' demand for MP3 tracks. By Katie Allen.

British bus and rail operator says soaring oil price forcing motorists out of their cars and on to public transport. By Dan Milmo.

News Corporation has overridden the wishes of Dow Jones shareholders the Bancroft family by appointing a 27-year-old opera singer with little experience of the media to represent the family on its board, according to reports.

Cable group Virgin Media added 13,000 new customers in the third quarter of the year. By Chris Tryhorn.

On Europe: Revelations about wages for union workers at chemicals giant BASF have caused a stir. By David Gow in Munich.

The head of the American internet company delivered a personal apology today to the tearful mother of a Chinese journalist who was jailed using email information provided by the firm to secret police in Beijing. By Andrew Clark.