The underwriters of Facebook's much-anticipated public share offering had to intervene heavily in the market to keep the social network from falling embarrassingly below its float price on the first day's trading yesterday.

After months of hype, Facebook finally discovered the true financial value of online status updates, baby photos and "likes" yesterday, as shares in the company became available to the general public for the first time.

A store described as "Britain's rudest shop" is to shut after 170 years.

Rarely have the world's most powerful people looked so impotent. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Canada and our own Prime Minister were received by the American President at Camp David last night at a gathering intended to hammer out a comprehensive solution to a eurozone emergency that threatens to plunge the world into a new financial crisis.

The £3.6bn UK lingerie market will be lifted this summer by brands expanding in London. The US chain Victoria's Secret has revealed the opening dates for its first two UK shops, while Agent Provocateur is searching for new London stores as part of a 50-store expansion plan.

Keller, the construction group which built the foundations for the 2012 London Olympic Stadium, reported a disappointing start to the year in Europe, and said it would continue to shrink its business in Spain, Portugal and Eastern Europe as those countries reel from a slump in construction activity.

The bus and rail firm Stagecoach spent £85m on buying nine businesses from its struggling US rival Coach America yesterday in an opportunistic move to bolster its fast-growing North American business.

The bean-counter John Connolly has been drafted as chairman of G4S, the security firm that will protect visitors to this summer's Olympics.

Mitchells & Butlers, the owner of some of Britain's best-known pubs, said yesterday that sales had fallen during April as the rain poured down.