This week saw the price of oil drop back below $100 per barrel again whilst at the same time one of the UK’s leading travel operator XL Leisure Group go bust, leaving thousands of stranded passengers abroad! See Planes sought for holiday Britons.

This week has highlighted the problems faced by the travel industry, as British Airways and American Airlines look to make a tie up along with other airlines which seek to find ways of tackling higher fuel costs! In this sale week Alaskan airline SAS custs 1000 jobs and the rescue deadline for Alitalia is extended!

And yet more bad news for the banking industry this week, as Lehman Brothers look for a buyer after they have suffered huge losses due to the sub-prime mortgage market problems! See Lehman scrambles to find a buyer

All this in a week where Britian is heading for recession and a “New” prime minister, as leaks come out from the Labour party over calls for a leadership contest!

End of the week saw:
Stock exchanges:
FTSE 100: 5,417
DOW: 11,422
S&P: 1,252
Nikkei: 12,215

Currencies
UK Sterling £ to US Dollar $ 1.7952
UK Sterling £ to Euro € 1.2616
US Dollar $ to Euro € 1.4221