A former West Yorkshire Police Detective Sergeant has been convicted of money laundering after standing accused of operating or being involved in the operation of fraudulent debt elimination companies and escort agencies.

DS Christopher Taylor ran Wakefield-based First Debt Recovery, established in 2008 and supposedly drawing on his experience with the CID and Fraud Squad.

However, it was later alleged that First Debt Recovery had been laundering money for several businesses operated by Anthony Muldoon, including five bogus debt elimination firms and a total of 28 escort agencies.

Read more: DS Chris Taylor: From Debt Recovery Rogue to Money Launderer

Superman is BACK with the cinematic release of Man of Steel, and it got us to thinking about whether or not the Kryptonian comicbook hero would be a worthy addition to the Safe Collections team.

We know he'd be a bit unpredictable - always nipping off into the nearest phone booth or flying off to save the world - but given that he'd be saving our skins in the process, we're willing to make some allowances.

Read more: Why the Man of Steel Would Make a Super Debt Collector

SMEs in the north-east are stop-gapping their cash flow problems by turning to pawnbrokers, according to a report in local news publication The Journal.

With bank lending hard to come by and many other conventional forms of finance also suffering during the downturn, sole traders and SMEs are taking desperate measures to cover costs.

Read more: Cash-Strapped Newcastle SMEs Turn to Pawn (Brokers)

Overdue payments by British businesses have been improving steadily over the past two years, and are now settled two days faster than in 2011, according to analyst D&B.

Two years ago, the average late payment was made 17 days beyond agreed terms, a figure that has now improved to 15 days, but has as far to go again if it is to match 2006's average of just 13 days.

Read more: D&B Reports 2 Day Improvement on Late Payments