Another 164 UK stores at DVD and games rental firm Blockbuster are to shut, administrators for the chain announced today.

The fashion chain Republic is expected to fall into administration today, putting 1,000 UK jobs at risk.

Retailers in the UK weathered the snowstorms that swept Britain last month after sales were boosted by shoppers tempted out with new year offers and promotions, figures showed today.

Britain’s battered retail sector saw a fall in the number of shoppers last month despite a last-minute surge in the week before Christmas, figures have revealed.

Music labels and film studios are reportedly planning to throw their weight behind a rescue deal for collapsed retailer HMV.

Collapsed DVD and games rental firm Blockbuster is to close 129 of its 528 British stores in the coming weeks and make 760 of its 4,190 employees redundant, its administrator confirmed today.

Retailer Game has confirmed it is among 50 potential suitors circling collapsed music entertainment chain HMV.

The largest streaming video platform on the planet is betting its future on commissioning original programming, reports Nick Summers

WARNER Bros, leading a push to spur movie purchases by delaying the availability of DVD rentals, is running into resistance in the US from two of its biggest customers.

The UK arm of DVD and games rental company Blockbuster has unexpectedly recorded an annual profit after its US parent filed for bankruptcy.

A large number of Xtra-vision's landlords have agreed to variations of the lease agreements they have with the chain, the High Court heard today.

XTRA-VISION’S outlets will continue to operate as normal following the appointment of an interim examiner to the company, the High Court heard yesterday.

IRISH-OWNED home entertainment retailer Xtra-Vision has said it expects to retain profitability in its current year and is hopeful of expanding its store network next year.

Troubled video-rental chain Blockbuster Inc today filed for bankruptcy protection.

HOME entertainment chain Xtra-vision plans to sell wine at its 186 stores nationwide — alongside movies, electronic games, music, sweets, popcorn and ice cream.

BLOCKBUSTER has sold Xtra-vision to Irish firm Birchhall Investments for up to $45 million (€31m).

Police say a bomb blast killed two people outside a Blockbuster video store in an upper middle-class district of Colombia’s capital Bogota.

Stocks finished a quiet session moderately lower today as investors grappled with concerns about the health of corporate profits after Wachovia posted disappointing quarterly results.

Electronics giant Sony is emerging as the likely winner in a format battle for the next generation of DVD players.

Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman ended up appearing in new film The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Jack Black after taking a walk in his neighbourhood and stumbling upon a film shoot.

Online DVD rental firms Lovefilm and Video Island agreed to merge today to bulk up against US competitors and defend their 17% share of the UK market.

Trains once packed with laughing children no longer roll around the grounds of Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch.

Video rental chain Blockbuster was today nursing steep second-quarter losses, as it complained that Hollywood was producing more misses than hits.

Consumer club website Pigsback.com is to open shop in the UK on June 12. Pigsback is spending €6m on the launch.

Three small explosive devices went off today near a McDonald’s, a Blockbuster video store and an Italian bank in Milan, police said. They caused minor damage, but no injuries.

The UK’s third-largest high street video rental chain was today bought in a move by an online rival to create a “bricks and clicks” service.

Blockbuster, the biggest video/DVD rental company in the US, is scrapping fines on late returns from January 1 – but if you keep them too long, you buy them.

British video rental group Home Entertainment Corporation today said last year’s hot summer had caused its first profits fall since 1990.

Stocks chalked up modest gains today in unusually light trading before Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s congressional testimony.

Movie classic Gone With The Wind was voted the greatest epic of all time today, by the video-renting public in the UK.

Investors retreated modestly on Wall Street today, collecting profits after a six-day advance in the Dow Jones industrials.

RONAN O’GARA has no intention of jumping Ireland’s ship for American football in the foreseeable future.

Natalie Portman has been voted America’s favourite fantasy New Year’s Eve date.

CINEMA-LOVERS are to benefit from a decision by five major Hollywood studios to launch a service that will allow movie fans to legally download films over the internet.

Screen veteran Sean Connery and Pretty Woman star Julia Roberts would be the dream pairing on screen, according to a new survey.