TVR is to close its UK factory in Blackpool with the loss of 260 jobs. Britain`s biggest independent car maker will cease production at the plant in six months. Half the firm`s staff had already been told to stay home after production plunged from 12 cars a week to just two. The Transport and General Workers Union said it was told the company would keep a presence in the UK but would be relocating production. A mass meeting of workers next week will decide on the union's next move. Andy Robertson of the TGWR said: "We are devastated by this news which has stunned the workforce." A company spokesman denied the company was shutting down its UK operations. Full Article

The chairman of Hyundai, Chung Mong-koo, is being questioned by South Korean prosecutors about allegations of illegal political lobbying. As he arrived at the prosecutors' office in Seoul, Mr Chung again offered an apology to the South Korean people. The car giant is suspected of creating a slush fund to pay politicians and officials for business favours. Mr Chung's son, Chung Eui-Sun, president of Hyundai subsidiary Kia Motors, may also be questioned. Two lobbyists have been arrested on suspicion of receiving money from the car company, although it is unclear whether they actually sought to pay government officials. Full Article

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the 15th month in a row, by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75%. The widely expected rise came at the end of the first interest rate meeting held by new Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. Rates have increased from 1% over the past 20 months and are now at their highest level since April 2001. Full Article

Scores of workers at Wembley Stadium have been told they will be laid off next week because of a dispute between contractors over pay, unions have claimed. The row is said to affect 120 steelworkers, scaffolders and welders. Union officials said workers had been told their employment will be terminated next Tuesday because sub-contractors have not been paid. The GMB union said its members had been told they were being laid off because their employers lacked sufficient funds to meet their wages. National officer Tom Kelly said: "We have instructed our members to carry on working normally until we have an opportunity to resolve the matter. Evacuation after rafter collapsed "The stadium is not finished and someone will have to employ our members to finish the job."Full Article