Inconsistencies in BBC business coverage highlighted by Sir Alan Budd's report

· An interview between former BBC business editor Jeff Randall and Sky boss James Murdoch on Radio Five Live's Weekend Business Live in December 2006 "appeared sycophantic when the presenter congratulated Mr Murdoch's pronouncements about the future of the company as the best sales pitch he had heard".

· The focus of stories about the £7bn profits announced by Barclays on February 20 2007 was the row over the level of bank charges when customers' accounts are overdrawn without permission. "This was despite the fact that most of the bank's profits were not made from UK accounts held by individuals and small businesses," said thereport.

· Panorama's Whose Water is It Anyway? on August 6 2006, "took a consumer champion position and seemed to relish publicly humiliating RWE, the German owners of Thames Water. We understand the need to ask tough questions of important and influential companies. But Panorama's decision to hire its own water tanker and address RWE management through a megaphone did not create an impression of balance and fairness."

· "Sometimes the preoccupation with the individual consumer angle can cause the mainstream bulletins to miss business stories that are important in their own right and have a major impact on the UK economy. For example, the various problems faced by Britain's biggest company BP over the last year or so, including the departure of its chief executive Lord Browne, went largely unreported."

· The Money Programme's Bank Robbery! piece on December 12 2006 investigated charges incurred by bank customers who were overdrawn without permission. "However, in our view this programme crossed the line when it actively intervened in the campaign on which it was reporting ... [it] arranged for an activist from one part of the country to address a meeting elsewhere. The programme's website also appeared not just to report on events but actively sought to influence them by providing a sample letter of complaint to send to the banks."

· "We listened to a large amount of material on Five Live and noted that occasionally some presenters and reporters gave their personal views and preferences about particular commercial products. We have learnt among other things that one is a fan of Majestic Wine, another is an enthusiastic subscriber to Sky and one likes shopping at JJB Sports ... this would seem to be a departure from ... the BBC's editorial guidelines."

· The report also warned the BBC about appearing to endorse new products: "For example, on Breakfast (BBC1, December 8 2006) the two presenters played enthusiastically and uncritically with the Wii console."

· "An interview with Bill Gates (10 O'Clock News, January 30 2007) was at times sycophantic in tone. We also agreed with witnesses that a number of BBC interviews with Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, in January 2007 were too uncritical."

· "Some presenters ... take a hostile and aggressive approach more associated with the interviewing of politicians. We listened to one such example - a live interview with Angela Knight of the British Bankers' Association (Today, December 15 2006) on banks and interest rate rises."

· Presenters can appear to be too much on the side of consumers: "A Five Live interview with the then managing director of British Gas about price increases (July 27 2006) which began 'You're taking the mickey ...' does not appear to be impartial. Editorial pressures can lead to an emphasis on conflict in order to make the story interesting, which may be at the expense of treating stories impartially."

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