Speaking to the BBC, M &S chairman Sir Stuart Rose said that the company had had a good Christmas, but 2010 would still be a tough year. He added: “2009 was all about getting through the recession” and that, “We have done pretty well in getting ourselves back into positive territory”.

These latest Marks and Spencer’s sales figures come after the John Lewis group posted record sales over the Christmas period. John Lewis reported a like-for-like sales rise of 12.7% for the five weeks up to the 2nd January and a total revenue of £500.8 million. Waitrose Supermarket, who is owned by John Lewis also posted a 20.8% sales rise from the previous year.

The study also found that the top five countries trying to purchase Tamiflu and other medications such as Viagra and Cialis are Germany, UK, US, Canada and France. A spokesman for Sophos said: “The criminal gangs working behind the scenes at fake internet pharmacies are putting their customers’ health, personal information and credit card details at risk”.

Adding that, “They have no problem breaking the law to promote these websites, so you can be sure they’ll have no qualms in exploiting your confidential data or selling you medications which may put your life in danger”.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health tried to reassure people by saying, “There’s no need to jump the queue or pay for antivirals. They are free on the NHS and being offered to all who need them.”

It is estimated that these criminal gangs can earn between £10,000 and £60,000 a day by selling their counterfeit medications, with continuing concerns about Swine Flu driving their profits higher.

People who are still worried about Swine Flu and want to buy Genuine Tamiflu should check that the online pharmacy is fully registered before purchasing.

The statement said, “All consumers should know that piracy is illegal and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs violates the Xbox Live terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox Live”.

Adding that, “The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them.”

It is hoped that this move will be a deterrent against video game piracy, which costs the video games industry an estimated £750 million a year.

Microsoft has not revealed how it determined which gamers to ban, but said that all of the consoles affected had been verified as breaking the term and conditions of the service.

Oil prices have risen by 77% in 2009 and is now trading at around $79 per barrel with China the driving force behind demand. In the IEA’s monthly report, it forecasts that there will be a 1.6% increase in demand for oil, taking it up to 86.2 million barrels per day.

The IEA added that the global economy was still fragile and demand within developed countries was falling as oil prices began to rise towards the $80 per barrel mark. The head of IEA’s oil industry division, David Fyfe said, “If prices keep rebounding, there’s a risk to the global economy as a whole, even to some of those economies in the Far East and even the Middle East”.

Although there is some concern about oil prices, the IEA also said that global demand would still grow in Q4 this year and that OPEC drilled more oil in October than September.

In a statement from BT it said, “We are delighted that we are continuing to work with Yahoo! through to 2011. As part of this new agreement BT Yahoo!’s web search will be provided by Google. We made this decision based on the fact Google is the most popular search engine in the UK. The combination of Google’s search engine with Yahoo!’s leading content and email services offers customers the ultimate broadband experience.”

Probably the most surprising part is that BT did not opt to use Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine, as Yahoo and Microsoft have just agreed a search ad deal in the US.

Meanwhile, Google will be pleased as they are now the largest search provider in the UK, having captured the majority of the big internet service providers.

After undergoing intense testing Michael Schumacher will not be returning to F1 due to a neck injury that happened during a bike accident.

Luca Badoer is now the stand in for Massa and has vowed to do all he can to help Ferrari.

Massa’s injury was sustained after a lose spring broke free from a Brawn GP car only moments earlier on the same lap.

“”It is with great sadness that it has been announced today that Sir Bobby Robson has lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.”

He sadly passed away peacefully this morning at his home in the north east.

Aged 76, bobby has been fighting cancer since 1991, he has managed some great football teams over his career including Porto, Barcelona and of course England, when he took them to the 1990 World Cup semi-final where they famously lost on penaties.

Earlier this week Schumacher’s agent said he was 200% sure that he wouldn’t be getting back into the Ferrari car to race in F1 again.

Schumacher is now 40 and will be the oldest driver on the track. He is set to undergo a special training program to prove that he is still fit enough to compete in Formula 1.

He will be set for a comeback for the GP of Europe at Valencia, it will be interesting to see how he copes with tracks that he hasn’t raced on before  and the evening race in Singapore.

Biggs aged 79 has suffered a series of strokes which has now left him unable to talk, He is now in hospital drifting in and out of consciousness and isn’t eating or walking. Doctors have said that there isn’t much hope for him.

The robbery took place on a TPO (Travelling Post Office) back on the 8th August 1963. £2.6 million was stolen which was in £1,£5 and £10 notes which where al used in today’s market this would be an estimated £38 million.

Ronnie escaped from HM Wandsworth Prison on 7th of July 1965 and fled to Paris straight away where he received new papers and passport so he was able to travel without suspicion.
Late 1965 Biggs flew to Sydney Australia where he lived for around 7/8 months before moving to Adelaide.

He received a letter from an anonymous source in England stating that Interpol where investigating him living in Australia and that he should relocate, so bags packed he moved to Melbourne.

In 1971 he was ousted as living in Rio De Janerio, but there was little the British police could do.

2001 saw Biggs return to the UK but he was immediately re arrested and imprisoned where he has been ever since.

UK shops have brought forward the summer sales in order to entice people to spend a little more a little sooner.

At the beginning of this week UK clothing retailer Next, claimed that the recent good weather had boosted its sales considerably.

This rise in UK sales is a positive sign that the UK might be over the worst of the economic storm.