Business

Actor Justin Mentell, known for his role in US television drama Boston Legal, has died as the result of a road traffic accident aged 27. Iowa County Sheriff's Department, who confirmed the death, stated that Mentell was driving without wearing a seatbelt when he crashed his 4 X 4 vehicle into two trees placed on an embankment. He was killed in the collision at 0300 local time. One of the roles that Justin Mentell played was Garrett Wells in Boston Legal in 2005 and in 2006. William Shatner, who also appeared in the programme, paid tribute to

Preliminary data from the Russian Federal Statistics Service says that the country's economy contracted by 7.9% in 2009 compared with the year before. It was the largest decrease in fifteen years, since 1994, but still smaller than the 8.5% contraction predicted by the government. The drop was largely attributed to the fall in oil prices last year. The World Bank predicts that the country's economy will grow by 3.2% this year, due to better demand and higher oil prices. The VTB Capital's Russian Purchasing Managers' index increased to 50.8,

At least sixteen people, including two paramilitary soldiers, have been killed today, and 25 people injured, after a suicide bomber attack on a checkpoint in Khar, in the Bajaur region of north-west Pakistan, according to officials. Initial reports suggested that the bomber was in a vehicle, and a local official states that the bomber was wearing a suicide vest. It is thought that the bomber detonated the vest when security forces stopped him for a search at the checkpoint, situated in a marketplace. After the attack, a curfew was imposed and

According to official data, the US economy grew by an annualised rate of 5.7% in the last quarter of last year. The figure is still an initial estimate, but was higher than the 2.2% annualised growth recorded in the third quarter of the year. Economic analysts polled by the Reuters news agency had predicted a 4.6% rise. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which releases the economy growth reports, noted that the figures were based on estimates and incomplete data, and might be revised later. Christina Romer, an economist for the White House, de

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday that 2009 was the "worst year" that the airline industry has ever seen since 1945. "In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," said IATA boss Giovanni Bisignani. "We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business." According to the group, passenger traffic was down by 3.5% compared to a year earlier, and freight by 10.1%. The group estimated that the airli

In his first annual State of the Union address Wednesday night, United States President Barack Obama urged Americans to overcome a deficit of trust in government and work together to solve a damaged economy and other problems. Obama acknowledged that many Americans are frustrated and angry, doubting whether he can deliver the change he promised in his 2008 campaign. But he said change is not easy, and he will continue to pursue it. "We do not quit. I do not quit. Let us seize this moment-to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to streng

NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the 2010 NBA season on Wednesday, January 27. The suspensions came after a fallout stemming from the two bringing guns into the Wizards' locker room. The suspensions took place after a one-hour meeting between Arenas and Stern. Stern noted that his decision on the two was to be harsh, as "guns are prohibited from being in our buildings and in team business...it's very potentially dangerous to our players and to anyone

Banks in Haiti have reopened for the first time since the earthquake. The central bank of Haiti reopened last Thursday and privately-owned banks opened Saturday. Private banks are allowing withdrawals of up to 2,500 Haitian gourdes (equivalent to about US$63 or £29). Bank officials were prepared for large crowds with extra security personnel. Officials say providing money to the disaster-struck people is essential to get Haiti back on its feet. As Haitians flood into the banks and transfer offices, transactions are taking up to 10 hours. Haiti

According to data from South Korea's national bank, the country's economy grew by 0.2% in the last quarter of 2009. The rise is now 6%, year-on-year, but the quarterly growth was slower than the 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. That increase was the best quarterly gain seen in over seven years. Analysts were predicting a slightly higher performance, 0.3%, for the last quarter, and 6.2% year-on-year, a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists reported. "The data was weaker than market expectation, but a central bank

PRS for Music is the UK's music royalty collection society tasked with working on behalf of copyright holders, specifically authors and music publishers. Founded in 1914, the PRS is a non-profit organisation with 350,000 UK businesses holding PRS licenses. The society works in conjunction with PPL which collects fees on behalf of the copyright holders of the actual recording. So, if a cover version of a song is played on UK radio, PRS collect a fee on behalf of the original writer and publisher, whilst PPL collect a fee on behalf of the recor

According to government figures, the UK economy grew by 0.1% in final quarter of last year, thus officially ending the country's recession. The rise was weaker than the 0.3%–0.4% predicted by economists. Previously, the economy had shrunk for six consecutive quarters, the longest since records were started, in 1955. However, during the entire of 2009, 1.3 million people lost their jobs. The statistics office noted it was possible that the numbers might be revised downwards, after an anticipated second estimate - and the third, final number -

Highland Airways, which runs flights between Anglesey in north Wales and Cardiff in south Wales, has said today that it is business as usual, despite suspending online booking yesterday. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Assembly Government to withdraw the £800,000 annual public subsidy for the route (about US$1.3 million) and use the money on "green public transport" instead. Although flights were continuing and passengers were told to "check in as normal", the company stopped taking bookings for future flights yesterday,