Both Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have now admitted they will both miss targets for lending to small businesses, despite government pressure to up the rate of loans.

If public sector waste makes you shudder, look away now. It seems while our attention was drawn by excessive payouts in the City, senior staff at a government quango were taking the opportunity to fill their boots.

The cost of running a small or medium sized business is climbing as fuel and raw materials increase in value, according to reports in the Financial Times newspaper.