Royal Mail’s letters business is being hit harder by competition from electronic alternatives, such as email and the internet, than it is by rival mail operators. The company has released figures that are understood to show its profits taking a £500m a year hit from e-substitution compared with the £100m …

The Royal Bank of Scotland will refund millions of pounds in ‘unauthorised’ overdraft charges if it loses the current High Court test case, it has confirmed. More: continued here

A record number of Tennesseans have been using food stamps as aid during hard economic times. State officials said the number of households on food stamps has risen 9.5 percent. More: continued here

Astoria residents had more than one reason to give thanks this Thanksgiving. Locals cheered after Con Edison announced shortly before the holiday that it had scrapped plans to sell 21 acres on the Astoria waterfront to a developer. More: continued here

A record number of Tennesseans are using food stamps as aid during hard economic times. More: continued here

The New York Post Office is kicking off its Operation Santa Claus for 2008. It’s your chance to help a answer a child’s Christmas wishes. More: continued here

Dire economic conditions are forcing a record number of Tennesseans to use food stamps. More: continued here

What started out as a junker listed for $500 on eBay ended up earning a Michigan man nearly a quarter of a million dollars. More: continued here

What started out as a junker listed for $500 on eBay ended up earning a Michigan man nearly a quarter of a million dollars. More: continued here

Massachusetts is again auctioning off abandoned property on eBay. Treasurer Timothy Cahill says unclaimed property will be auctioned live from noon Thursday until Dec. 15. Some 100 new lots will be posted on Dec. 4, Dec. 6, and Dec. 8. More: continued here