Marks and Spencer cuts 1,000 jobs Marks and Spencer will announce on Wednesday that it is cutting 1,000 jobs from its workforce of 70,000, the BBC confirms. German billionaire kills himself German billionaire Adolf Merckle commits suicide after his business empire runs into trouble in the global economic slowdown. House prices 'fell 15.9% in 2008' House prices fell by 15.9% last year, according to the latest survey by the Nationwide building society.