Business Editor Julia Breen looks at what made the headlines in the North-East in the second half of 2005.

In July, x-ray equipment manufacturer Bede warned it was shedding a tenth of its workforce after disappointing first-half orders.

Mobile phone equipment group Filtronic, which took over the former Fujitsu site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, announced in August that it had created 60 jobs and planned to invest several million pounds in its factory.

Developers at Lingfield Point, Darlington, revealed the site would eventually be home to 5,000 workers - 3,500 more than presently work there.

In October, Sunderland's DP Furniture Express, formerly Durham Pine, went into administration. The company blamed a deteriorating market.

Biofuels Corporation, the company building a biodiesel plant on Teesside, suspended trading on the stock exchange in November and went into crisis talks with lenders after losing a major contract. It resumed trading in December after securing a funding package with its bankers.

Car dealer Reg Vardy, based in Sunderland, revealed it had received a takeover bid from larger rival Pendragon, and began talks with two other potential buyers. It eventually accepted a higher offer from Pendragon, though a deal has yet to be finalised.

In December, the Eliza Tinsley Group, in Evenwood, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, revealed it was making 62 workers redundant as a result of lost contracts.

Teesport owner PD Ports accepted a takeover bid from Australian investment company Babcock and Brown. The bid beat an earlier offer from Endeavour Ports.