Southern Cross has identified 47 care homes that it wants to hand back to the landlords, almost immediately and a further 85 homes that it would wish to pull out of over the coming five years ( see this morning's FT for more on this).

BBC: Southern Cross��s future to be decided by banks

It has also been agreed that the Israeli army will shortly pull out of five towns in the West Bank, handing over responsibility for security to the PA's forces.

ECONOMIST: The day that peace broke out? | The

Ending price declines would give companies and households more incentive to borrow and help the world's third-largest economy pull out of its latest recession, its third in the past five years.

CNN: Bank of Japan bows to inflation pressure