Trading in Woolworth’s shares was suspended today as the company is locked in talks over debt restructuring that may see the high street favourite go in to administration.

Woolworth’s employs almost 30,000 at stores all over the UK.

Another 1500 jobs are in jeopardy at fitted furniture firm MFI is also teetering on the brink of administration in a row over unpaid rents with landlords.

Other big names in trouble are the UK’s biggest tile and wooden flooring retailer Topps Tiles.

The 320-store chain has seen like-for-like sales fall 18.3% in the past seven weeks. The company has quoted a 27% fall in profits and axed dividends. Topps shares fell 2.5p to 18. Eighteen months ago they were changing hands at 300p.

Bosses at Hull’s KCOM – famous for the city’s cream telephone kiosks - put the company up for sale after shares slumped 80% in the past year, valuing the company at £65 million. When the city council floated the company in 1999, giving local residents share priority, the business was valued at £180 million.

The Government now owns about 58% of the Royal Bank of Scotland at a cost of £2.7 billion to the taxpayer after plans to raise cash from shareholders stalled.

Royal Bank shares closed at 53.6p, a 2.8p, or 5.5%, rise on the day.

The taxpayer is also footing the bill for 43% of the Lloyds TSB group

Lloyds TSB, which is fund-raising at 173.3p a share, closed up 13.3p, or 9%, at 160.9p.

The US Federal Reserve pumped another $800 billion in to the mortgage and credit markets boosting confidence in the economy.

The markets on both sides of the Atlantic closed up yesterday – with the FTSE100 ending up 18 point at 4171 and the DOW up 36 pts at 8479.

The Pound finished the day at £1.535 against the US Dollar and £1.185 against the Euro.