The introduction of a controversial £1 (€1.20) toll for dropping off passengers at Belfast International Airport prompted calls today for a Stormont investigation.

The North's hard-pressed householders were given an early Christmas present of reduced electricity and gas prices today.

International reductions in the price of electricity should be quickly passed to consumers in the North, the regulator said today.

Consumers in the North facing a winter of rising fuel costs could be spared water charges, First Minister Peter Robinson said tonight.

The Northern Executive should help defuse an energy crisis which has seen prices rise by 14%, an electricity boss said today.

Budget airline easyJet is launching four new routes out of Belfast this week, it announced today.

Gas users in the North were today hit with another substantial price hike, as Phoenix Natural Gas announced that it was putting up prices by 14.5% from Sunday.

Britain's Consumer Council has applauded a £37m (€54.76m) school transport reform package announced today, which aims to make school bus journeys in the North safer and more comfortable.

The UK Competition Commission is in Belfast today, taking evidence as part of an unprecedented investigation into alleged "rip-off" charges imposed on personal account holders by banks in the North.

The Competition Commission is visiting Belfast this week as part of its investigation into alleged “rip-off” charges imposed on personal account holders at Northern banks, it was revealed today.

Bank of Ireland was criticised by the Consumer Council yesterday for not treating customers in the North as well as in the Republic.

The Bank of Ireland was under fire from the Consumer Council today for treating its customers in the North less well than in the Republic.

The North's Consumer Council is calling on the Bank of Ireland to remove all charges from its personal current accounts in Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Bank today became the second of Northern Ireland’s Big Four banks to bow to pressure and drop charges on personal current accounts.

The British government was today urged to provide financial aid to help some families in the North who are facing gas price increases of almost 30%.

The Consumer Council in Northern Ireland has teamed up with an independent banking advice network to help more consumers have their say on bank charges, penalties and fees.

The cost of tea, the favoured drink of poor Zimbabweans, rose by 28% amid soaring food prices last month, the independent Consumer Council said.

Gas users in Northern Ireland were furious today at an expected price rise of up to 20%.