The Iranian Jewish property entrepreneurs Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz were among nine people arrested today in connection with the collapse of Icelandic banking giant Kaupthing.

Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz were arrested early this morning and are being questioned by police in central London.

A recent letter in the Guardian sardonically remarked: "Good to know the figures add up: £7 billion in bankers' bonuses this year and £7 billion off the welfare budget. Makes sense."

The Conservative peer Lord Young of Graffham has resigned as an economics adviser to David Cameron after commenting that people hit by the recession “have never had it so good”.

The Prime Minister has accepted Lord Young’s resignation from the unpaid role, just hours after he said the Jewish peer would be “doing a bit less speaking in future".

Labour politicians criticised him for displaying "complete indifference” after the peer told the Daily Telegraph that “this so-called recession” had actually had a positive impact on some people.

A two-week UK visit for 17 Israeli war veterans organised by the Manchester branch of British Friends of Israel War Disabled went ahead despite a significant financial shortfall.

The annual trip, featuring activities around the north-west and two days' sightseeing in London, costs £20,000.

Manchester-based organiser Elaine Hamburger said the economic downturn had made fundraising difficult and half the money had yet to be raised. Cash was still coming in but any shortfall would be met by the national BFIWD organisation.

Hull's Jewish care home is hoping to attract new residents from neighbouring communities whose residential facilities are over-subscribed.

The committee at Menorah House is looking further afield to help fill its rooms, while assisting those unable to access kosher homes in other cities.

Ranked excellent at its last key unannounced inspection, the home has 24 flats, all with en-suite facilities and sitting rooms.

Harold Flasher, chairman of Menorah House's building committee, said the move was intended to help the home weather the recession.

The number of youngsters taking gap years in Israel fell dramatically this year because of the financial climate.

Only around 60 went to Israel this year, compared to more than 100 a year over the past three, according to FZY, the UK's largest Zionist youth movement.

And Bnei Akiva, the religious Zionist movement, experienced a slide from about 40 to the lower 20s.

But leaders hope that numbers will begin to climb again this autumn with BA anticipating as many as 55 recruits to its yeshivah and year schemes which can cost as much as £16,000.

The former chairman of Lloyds, Sir Victor Blank, will take an unpaid role as a government adviser on overseas investment.

Sir Victor, who left Lloyds after its disastrous takeover of HBOS, will sit on the new Investment Advisory Panel, created by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson for government department UK Trade and Investment.

The panel, which includes Dragon’s Den judge James Caan, is believed to have met for the first time this week.

Ian Luder, the former Lord Mayor, has reportedly had his impending knighthood dropped after defending bankers’ bonuses.

Mr Luder, the 681st Lord Mayor was allegedly due to receive a knighthood in tomorrow’s New Year Honours List but will be the first Alderman to be denied it in more than 50 years.

In June Sir Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary, head of the Home Civil Service and chairman of the main Honours Committee said that Lord Mayors could no longer expect to automatically receive a knighthood.

Senior executives and company directors have been no more immune to redundancy than anyone else during the economic downturn. Whilst there is talk of the tide turning, people are still losing their jobs.

Employment disputes and redundancies are a typical feature of troubled economic times as companies react to dwindling revenues by firing employees at all levels in order to cut costs. But lawyer Elaine Aarons, a leading employment expert who specialises in advising executives at international law firm Withers LLP, believes this recession has been different.

Peter Marks ran his family bakery business in north London for 22 years. But the combined competition from internet shopping and a new Tesco Metro forced him to sell up in June 2008. He continued to manage the store but earlier this year, it closed for good and the 51-year-old became jobless for the first time in his working life.

Marks is not alone. Jewish workers have been victims of “operations streamlining” or “office downsizing” since the recession hit, just like everyone else.

The recession could redefine the status of the security industry, particularly among the Jewish community, say former policemen Adam and Nick Conn.

James Wolfensohn is not a typical investment banker. After all, how many in his profession have dedicated their career to redistributing the world’s wealth from the rich to the poor.

Wolfensohn has. In his decade as president of the World Bank he was able to indulge his passion for development. It was a decade in which several hundred million people were taken out of poverty — a very small first step to righting the world’s imbalances.