Updated 6:59pm 25 May 2013

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Jon Griffin

Jon Griffin

HMV jobs saved after Hilco buys retail chain

Staff at crisis-hit HMV – including its flagship Birmingham city centre store – have been thrown a lifeline following a £50 million rescue.Read

Nurses at Birmingham NEC facing axe, claims union

Professional nurses at the Birmingham NEC face the axe and could be replaced by security and traffic personnel who double up as part-time first-aiders.Read

Pay talks at Midland Metro stall after drivers reject latest offer

Pay talks have stalled at the Midland Metro light railway– with drivers and conductors overwhelmingly spurning a controversial two-tier offer.Read

Metalrax bought out of administration and 400 jobs saved

Nearly 400 jobs have been saved with the rescue of Metalrax, one of the West Midlands’ best known industrial names, following its sudden collapse.Read

Jon Griffin: Virtual generation feeding off a diet of bullet points

Very occasionally, as the boundaries between perception and reality become increasingly blurred to older generations, there’s a dazzling shaft of light.Read

Jessops open again in Birmingham thanks to Dragons' Den star Peter Jones

Camera giant Jessops is back in the frame in Birmingham - opening its doors again nearly three months after going bust.Read

Nearly 200 Cadbury jobs saved amid rumours of Mondelez-Pepsi merger

Around 180 workers at Cadbury have been saved from redundancy following more than a year of talks – as rumours circulate of the parent firm of the chocolate giant merging with Pepsi.Read

Birmingham Chamber happy to see Virgin retain West Coast Main Line contract

Business leaders have welcomed the decision to award the West Coast Main Line contract to Virgin until 2017 – a full five years after Sir Richard Branson was set to lose it.Read

Birmingham software firm Delcam reveals record results

Birmingham-based software firm Delcam unveiled its best-ever results – with record annual sales of £47.1 million and profits of £5.1 million.Read

Plans to halve 90-day redundancy consultation period "good for economy"

Firms throughout the Midlands should welcome moves to halve the 90-day consultation period for redundancies involving 100 or more employees, says a leading regional lawyer.Read

Cash crisis forced collapse of law firm Blakemores

Imminent action by creditors forced regulators to intervene in West Midlands law firm Blakemores with the loss of around 250 jobs.Read

Jon Griffin: Fate of Blakemores would have please the Bard

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” Shakespeare once wrote. A little drastic perhaps, but many people have considered that the Bard had a point.Read

Historic Birmingham stockbroker Fyshe Horton Finney collapses

One of Birmingham’s oldest stockbrokers – which has been a fixture of the city for nearly 120 years – has collapsed after struggling to pay its debts.Read

Bitter reaction to closure of Birmingham law firm Blakemores

Regulators have been accused of “destroying” long-established Midland law firm Blakemores and throwing around 250 employees out of work with “farcical” haste.Read

Birmingham Post Business Growth Fund open for more grant applications

The fifth round of the Birmingham Post Business Growth Fund has been launched – and businesses have been urged to get grab a chance to grow.Read

Blakemores law firm closes with 200 job losses fears

Blakemores – one of Birmingham’s best-known law firms – has closed after more than 50 years with the feared loss of up to 200 jobs following a major cash crisis.Read

Mystery statue found in Worcestershire garden sold for £35,000

An abandoned lead statue found buried deep in bushes in a Worcestershire garden sold for an “amazing” £35,000 following a fiercely-contested auction.Read

Review: Wilko Johnson, at the Robin 2, Bilston

It may have been the hottest ticket in rock due to the tragic circumstances but this was no mawkish send-off.Read

Interstate to take over Birmingham venues at The Cube and Broad Street

Hotels giant Interstate has issued a massive vote of confidence in Birmingham – with a landmark deal to take over three key venues in the city centre.Read

No-win-no-fee lawyers 'behind safety headaches for firms'

A ‘fear factor’ centred around no win, no fee lawyers and poor advice from consultants is landing firms with unnecessary headaches, says one of the UK’s top health and safety officials.Read

Author Profile

Jon Griffin has been Business Editor of the Birmingham Mail since 1998. He began his career at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1975 then worked from 1978-79 for the Birmingham Evening Mail. He later joined the Coventry Evening Telegraph as a trainee sub-editor then the Wolverhampton Express and Star from 1980 before rejoining the Mail in April 1996.