A message which appeared on the hacked websites stated the attack had the purpose of protesting against the Chinese government, and its very strict control of China’s citizens. The protest also urged the people of China to join Anonymous, and start their own protests against their nation’s leaders.

Webpages that were hit had the same statement written on them, which expressed disapproval at the Chinese government for its repressive policies. The message said: “Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall.”

China currently has one of the world’s broadest Internet surveillance systems, referred to as the Great Firewall of China. The surveillance system polices where people in the nation can go on the web, and also attempts to restrict what they can discuss online.

There has not been any official confirmation of the attacks as yet, but some news reports state that officials deny that any attacks had occurred. However, a large number of the websites that were said to have been affected are now offline, while others displayed the hackers’ message for some considerable time.

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Mr Greetham, the portfolio manager of Fidelity’s multi-asset funds, told the Telegraph that gold performed best at times when the dollar is weak and worldwide growth is slowing down.

Greetham followed up this comment by telling the Telegraph that gold was also getting less attractive in the commodity asset class, while oil is “a much better hedge against geopolitical shocks”, especially when there are tensions in Middle Eastern nations.

Some surveys however have indicated that gold may still be a good bet for investors, this year and more likely during next year, as they predict that the precious metal’s price may reach or surpass the $2,000 per ounce mark later in the year or early in 2013.

Gold went through a bull run until the middle of last year, as fears over the eurozone debt crisis led many investors to look to it as a safe haven. However, the gold price has dipped more recently, as it is currently at a level around $1,600, short of its $1,900 per ounce peak and still some way from predicted prices.

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The resignation means that he no longer has a major position at a UK-based business. Murdoch also left his role as chairman of News International last month, the company owned by News Corporation (Public, NASDAQ:NWSA), which was founded by the media mogul Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch’s father.

In a statement, James Murdoch stated that he didn’t want BSkyB to be undermined by “matters outside this company”. News Corporation had previously tried to taker over BSkyB, but had to drop its plans as the hacking scandal unravelled. News Corp currently owns 39% of BSkyB.

According to reports from the BBC, media commentator Steve Hewlett has said that James Murdoch’s resignation has hit his chances of eventually taking over from his father as News Corporation head.

James Murdoch now works in New York as part of News Corporation’s pay-TV businesses. Mr Murdoch, who is also currently News Corp’s deputy chief operating officer, has continually denied having knowledge of any phone hacking by the News of the World.

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The CFIB has stated that the continuing optimism indicates that smaller and medium sized companies have returned to a level of sentiment that would be expected to go along with a stable and growing economy.

Business owners in Alberta and Saskatchewan are the most optimistic, while in Ontario the index has risen to go above the Canadian national average for the first time in one and half years.

Business confidence has also got better in Quebec,Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. It has however dipped considerably in the British Columbia and New Brunswick areas of the country.

Despite sentiment falls in some regions, both planned hiring and wages sentiment rose during March, while capital spending keeps showing a stable profile for March, according to the CFIB. Confidence for planned investment in buildings and land is also above trend.

The data from the survey is based on 821 responses, which were taken from a random sample of members of the CFIB. The survey results are believed to be statistically accurate 19 times out of 20.

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The site launched in the autumn of last year, and has seen some impressive growth in just a few months. It is now believed to have several hundred thousand members and ‘freeloaders’.

Free members on That Free Thing are people who join the site and simply wish to claim discounts on products. But premium members of That Free Thing can get extra benefits, such as being able to earn cash through helping to promote the website.

While That Free Thing may still have a long way to go to reach the heights achieved by Groupon, the growth which the business has seen has impressed a number of people involved with it. The young company is also hoping to benefit from some of the negative press which larger rivals have received of late.

It also claims to have advantages over some larger rivals – some members of the business claim that it has a unique search facility that can make using their site a better experience for users.

That Free Thing also says that it can pay merchants who advertise with higher amounts than some rivals, as it doesn’t spend cash on advertising or sales teams and will also be introducing its merchant account services later in the year.

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The daily deals companies Groupon (Public, NASDAQ:GRPN), Team Buy and Deal Find, have all been in the process of refunding the Aubrey’s coupons, but another deal company, Kahoot, is refusing to refund online coupons for the butcher. The firm has a policy of not refunding any vouchers which are over a week old.

Kahoot also said however, that its discount deals never expire, so those who claimed the Aubrey’s deal with Kahoot may still be able to take advantage of it, as Aubrey’s says it will begin accepting vouchers again from the 1st of May.

Aubrey’s, like several small businesses, is reported to have signed up with a number of online deal retailers in order to attract new customers, raise their revenues, and bring in new business fast.

But the butcher shop is just one of many small and medium sized companies that have either had to pull out of agreements with daily deals firms, or have had difficulties of one degree or another when dealing with large deals companies such as Groupon and LivingSocial.

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Groupon’s admission of the earnings overstatement led to its shares closing down by around 17% on the Nasdaq, at a level of $15.28. The daily deals giant has now seen its shares drop considerably since it made its debut on the stock market during November 2011, when its shares were worth $20 each.

Groupon has stated that its earnings overstatement was down to the fact that it had underestimated both its operational costs, and the level of cash that had to be put aside for customer refunds.

The daily deals firm, which is the biggest company in its industry, has seen its revenue for 2011’s final quarter being lowered by $14.3m (£8.9m), while its net income is now $22.6m (£14.1m) lower.

The readjustment meant that Groupon’s losses for the quarter were around $65m, as opposed to the previously-stated $42.7m, recorded in the firm’s February earnings report, the business’s first since it became a publicly traded company.

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The vice president Antonio Tajani’s comments have come after the first in depth analysis on how smaller businesses are having an effect on both pollution targets, and climate change.

According to a new survey from Eurobarometer, less than 25% of Europe’s small companies are “actively engaged” in attempting to lower their environmental impact, with the majority of those who do choosing energy efficiency measures to do so. A similar number offer their customers “green” services or products.

In the EU, small businesses are responsible for almost two thirds of industrial emissions, but in environmental policy, in particular climate change, they have often been ignored, as there has been more focus on persuading the biggest businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Small businesses are however now saying that they are taking greater action to use resources efficiently. Over 60% of firms questioned in the Eurobarometer survey stated that they were trying to save energy and recycle or minimise their waste more. About half also said they are making attempts to save water.

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The large US-based firm Groupon (Public, NASDAQ:GRPN) in particular has come under fire after revelations that a number of small businesses have suffered severe financial blows due to their involvement with the company.

Groupon have said, in response to news that some small companies have lost money after offering discounts with them, that it is important for vendors to operate within their capabilities.

The firm’s difficulties along with troubles for some other large deals sites, have led to some analysts suggesting that the industry may be short-lived. Some established companies have also backed away from the industry after previously planning to set up their own deal offering websites.

But other analysts believe that the industry could still potentially be of benefit to both consumers and merchants of all sizes, despite some deals previously going wrong, as companies may still need to get used to this relatively new type of trade.

Some commentators say it is especially important for small firms, who wish to offer online discounts, to spend time finding a deals website which can help them attract enough new customers, and can pay them enough cash to make it worth while.

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Spain had the highest rate of unemployment during the month, with 23.6% of people being unemployed. Portugal (15% unemployed), France (10% unemployed), and Italy (9.3% unemployed) also had high jobless rates.

The lowest rates of unemployment in the eurozone meanwhile, are in Austria, where the rate is 4.2% the Netherlands, where it is 4.9%, and Germany, which had a February jobless rate of 5.7%.

In Italy, the percentage of people without work hit its highest level since that nation began collecting monthly unemployment figures in 2004. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is currently trying to introduce labour market reforms, which he believes will boost employment.

Another economic report for the eurozone meanwhile, showed that Europe’s manufacturing sector also struggled in February, as manufacturing activity in Europe shrank. It was especially weak in France, where manufacturing activity fell to its lowest point in nearly three years.

In Spain, struggling to implement swingeing austerity measures demanded by the European Union to meet tough deficit targets, the sector contracted for the 11th month. Manufacturing in Italy shrank for an eighth month.

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