Sony have announced a fall in profits with the net profit down 66.5bn yen from a year ago. The news comes due a strong yen and price competition and is despite the fact that Playstation sales are still strong. Sony have said that that its net profit in the year to March 31 2009 is likely to total 240bn yen down from an earlier forecast made in May of 290bn.

Amazon has beaten its profit forecasts for the three month to the end of June, doubling its profits to $158m. Sales of books, CDs, and DVDs have risen by 31% whilst electronics and other merchandise are up 58%. Analysts have said that Amazon is benefiting from high petrol prices which make shoppers more likely to shop online.

A British schooner has started carrying bottles on wine in a move that could revive the merchant shipping industry. Its first commercial cargo consists of French wine and is being transported on a six day journey to Dublin on the 108 year old ship called the Kathleen & May. The initial contract is with 80 vineyard owners from the Languedoc Roussillon region of France and will carry their bottle from France to Dublin on the tall ship. This form of transport has the advantage that it is pollution free as the ship simply uses wind power rather than emitting carbon dioxide like conventional merchant ships.

European scientists are working on an idea that could use solar energy from the Sahara to power parts of Europe. The plan would see vast fields of solar panels set up in the desert and would cost around £35.7bn. Because the sunlight is more intense the solar panels could generate up to three times the electricity compared with similar panels in Europe. Under the plan countries across Europe would also share electricity from green resources such as wind energy in the UK and Denmark and geothermal energy from Iceland and Italy.

Apple has seen its profits beat forecasts with a rise to $1.07bn in the first fiscal third quarter. They have also issued a warning that the current quarter profits will fail to meet analysts forecasts. Whilst the company's results were ahead of expectations the warning of lower sales concerned investors and sent shares 6% lower.

Marks and Spencer have cut the price of selected men's suits to only £24. It has also cut prices of some dresses to £9 and T-Shirts to £2. The cuts are part of its summer sale, in which they are taking 60% or more off of some items to try and turn around a bad sales performance.

The first half of the year has seen a rise in the amount of money spent on the internet in the UK. Shoppers spent 17p in every pound online with the total internet spend going up by 38% compared to the same period last year. Online sales have now reached nearly 20% of retail spending.

Some of the leading supermarkets have recently cut their fuel prices. The cuts are as a result of the recent drop in oil prices. Asda has dropped its prices by 3p a litre, Morrisons cut prices by 4p and Sainsbury's have said they will offer a 5p a litre reduction for customers who spend £50 or more in store.

Nike has withdrawn its range of Air Stab trainers due to the recent spat of knife crime. The trainers which sell for £90 will be taken off the shelves due to the current regarding knife crime. A spokesman for Nike said 'The shoe was first launched in 1988 as a stability running shoe, hence the name Air Stab. It has nothing to do with knives or knife crime."

The government is looking at introducing a rent first buy later scheme to inject some new life into the housing market. Under the scheme people with household earnings under £60,000would be able to rent a property at a discounted rate for two or three years. They would then have the option to buy part of it. The government hopes that the scheme will benefit 75,000 first time buyer households to get on the property ladder.