Chancellor Alistair Darling may have more leeway on Wednesday's budget than feared. Bad debts at Lloyds Banking Group are shrinking faster than expected and the group is likely to make a profit.

The improvements come as something of a surprise. As recently as three weeks ago chief executive Eric Daniels said bad debts were shrinking by about 20% every six months and it expected that trend to continue. But yesterday the banking group presented a rather different picture.

Shares in Currys' owner DSG closed up 1.4% today on news the electrical retailer is to build another 25 giant megastores across the UK. Good news for fans of cheap hi-tech goods. Also good news for UK consumer confidence.

When the first Currys megastore opened in October 2008, near Birmingham, at Junction 9 of the M6, tens of thousands of consumers flocked there. It was so popular that fights broke out.

Huge offshore wind farms, new nuclear reactors and a 'Green Investment Bank'. Just some of the ambitious energy measures proposed by the Conservatives today.

Loans of up to £6,500 would be available to each UK households for energy efficiency improvements, under the plan. All part of an attempt by the Conservatives for Britain to cut carbon emissions by more than a third by 2020.

We are in the red. We owe close to two thirds of what the entire country produces in a year. And the figure is rising. Collective government debt has risen a fifth since last year, according to official sources. It now stands at £857bn, or 60% of gross output

No, UK plc is not about to go bust. In Greece, the same ratio is almost double ours (113%). In Italy, one of the eurozone's most indebted countries, it is even higher (119%). Even good old Uncle Sam is more indebted than us. The US ratio stands at 69%.

It really is grim up North. Scottish retailers suffered their worst February in more than a decade, reveal figures out today. In contrast, business is booming in London. Overseas visitors are flocking to the capital to take advantage of Sterling's weakness. Unfortunately, few of them made it north of the M25.

Like-for-like sales in Scotland fell 1% from February last year, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. So, what went wrong in Scotland, when things are going so well in London? Well, chiefly the stuff that often goes wrong in Scotland. Namely, dreadful weather and poor consumer confidence.

Two thirds of mothers return to work after the birth of their children, an increase of 50% since the 1980's. Almost 70% of mothers with children under five now work, up from just 38% ten years ago, according to the Policy Studies Institute.

"The job market has changed significantly for women in the last twenty years," said Sherridan Hughes, an occupational psychologist. Hughes has compiled a list of tips to help women get back to work, ranging from networking and reducing guilt to building self confidence.

The report into the collapse of Lehman Brothers may lead to criminal cases against the investment bank's former executives, say legal experts.

Court-appointed lawyers last week published a devastating report into the 2008 Lehman bankruptcy. One result could be charges under securities fraud laws, say legal experts quoted today by Reuters.

Commercial pressure on parents has reached crisis point, argues a leading parenting charity. The National Childbirth Trust wants legislation to prevent retailers taking advantage of vulnerable new parents.

Three quarters of parents feel under pressure to buy unnecessary baby products, according to a survey from the charity. Nearly two thirds are worried that it is commercial companies that provide parenting infomation.

Even a recession cannot dull the national appetite for beer and fun, as pub chain JD Wetherspoon proved today. The firm announced record first half profits of £36.2m from its estate of more than 700 pubs, up more than 40% on the previous year.

Unveiling its results, Wetherspoon criticised government attempts to reduce drunken behaviour. "The crackdown on pubs may actually exacerbate the problems of binge drinking," said the firm. "It has resulted in more drinking, especially by young people, in the unsupervised environments of parties, streets and parks."

Could public finances be in even worse shape than already suspected? We already know the economy is in a bad way. Biggest peace-time deficit, banks on verge of collapse, triple A rating under threat etc. Now an influential report says the government underestimates the scale of difficulties.

The report claims that additional tax rises or spending cuts of £20bn a year (over and above what we already know about) will be needed within three years. The government is also too optimistic in its economic growth predictions, suggests report author PricewaterhouseCoopers.