AS predicted, US interest rates were reduced last month by 0.25 per cent to a mere one per cent.

The focus this week will be on UK interest rates, as the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets on Wednesday and Thursday. The prospects of lower UK interest rates have been increased dramatically.

Lower rates are good news for mortgage borrowers, but not so for savings on deposit. With bank and building society deposit rates potentially tumbling to 3.25 per cent at best, savers will need to look seriously at alternatives available through the Stock Market.

Returns of 3.25 per cent are not difficult to find. The FTSE All Share Index yield is currently 3.45 per cent. In practical terms, this is the average dividend yield on each stock in the market.

As we know, though, some shares yield more than others. Some operate with no dividend policy, meaning that others will yield significantly above the average.

The dividend yield is the measure of income return from an investment without taking into account any capital value appreciation.

As we have seen from March of this year, shares can go up in value, as well as down. Provided that the dividend yield is sustainable, even a modest capital appreciation in a company's share price will give a significantly better return than cash on deposit.

Until last week's rain, June's rise in temperatures provoked an irresistible urge for ice creams and ice lollies.

One of the beneficiaries of this Pavlov's Dogs reaction is likely to be local company Richmond Foods.

The company, based at Leaming Bar, is, like its rivals, reliant on impulse sales. Despite intense competition from giants Walls (Unilever), Cadbury and privately owned Mars, Richmond Foods is punching its weight using the Nestle brand, which has been successfully integrated.

Richmond will be keen to push its range of Nestle premium ice cream tubs, including Smarties, Yorkie, After Eight and Mivvi variants.

Richmond Foods has been a consistently good share price performer, though, having more than doubled over the last two years.

The future's bright, the future's Orange. Well it is at this rate, as the company's new Chief Executive Sol Trujillo provided a strategy update to journalists and analysts recently.

Mr Trujillo said that Orange was on track to generate revenue growth of five per cent in 2003 and that growth in the following two financial years would be even higher.

Targets have been set for all national operations to achieve more than 20 per cent of the local market share.

He also announced an alliance with Motorola that would see the US giant tailor exclusive Orange branded mobile handsets.

Orange is a major employer in this region. The Darlington site employs around 2,200, Peterlee 1,100 and the North Tyneside site 1,600.

The Stock Market has understandably retreated from the highs seen in the middle of June, having risen by 28 per cent in the space of two months.

Although still low in relative terms, there is a thought that the market has risen too far, too fast, and an element of profit taking has been seen.

UK and US figures announced last week have not provided any impetus to push the market higher.