It was supposed to cure sick-note Britain. But the new "fit note" regime - brought in last year to reduce long-term sickness absence - has actually doubled the time employees take off work, according to a major study. 31 Dec 2011 The global economy will grow by around 3pc this year, down from 4pc in 2011. The US should manage a 2pc expansion, while Britain and the eurozone will struggle. A West European recession, the UK included, now looks unavoidable. 31 Dec 2011 Thanksgiving really was the appropriate word this year. Whatever else our American cousins have to be thankful for, they are particularly grateful that they are safely on their side of the pond right now. 31 Dec 2011 British investors have been warned that they face a lacklustre year in 2012 after share prices and property values recorded another dismal 12 months during 2011. 31 Dec 2011 High-spending tourists from China were out in force at the sales this week, says Alistair Osborne. 31 Dec 2011 Investors turned to defensive stocks during a year in which political turmoil and the festering debt crisis dragged the FTSE 100 down 5.6pc. 30 Dec 2011 Germany's finance minister has been accused of groundless optimism after he claimed that Europe's leaders will have "banished the dangers" of the euro crisis within 12 months. 30 Dec 2011 Ocado and SuperGroup's first full year of trading as public companies might well be one their investors would rather forget. 30 Dec 2011 New government to cut public spending by €8.9bn in 2012 but warned the country's deficit would be higher than expected. 30 Dec 2011 Britons injected £8.6bn of net equity into their homes in the third quarter reflecting ongoing weakness in the housing market, but the Bank of England sees "little sign" of households trying to clear their debts more quickly. 30 Dec 2011 Mario Monti has pleaded for the eurozone to expand its "big bazooka" bail-out fund as an expensive Italian bond auction suggested that even last week's flood of cheap loans from the ECB has failed to stem the crisis. 30 Dec 2011 Spain's centre-right government will announce billions of euros in savings measures on Friday, using its first decrees since sweeping to power at November elections to give the nation a foretaste of tougher austerity to come. 30 Dec 2011 Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says he's confident that Europe's politicians will manage to stabilize the eurozone in 2012 and keep the continent's common currency together. 30 Dec 2011 Next year, 2012, must be the year the UK finally stops agonising about rebalancing its economy and actually does so, said the head of the CBI in his new year message. 30 Dec 2011 Some of Dubai’s biggest companies will need state-funded bail-outs in 2012 if large-scale defaults are to be avoided, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has warned. 29 Dec 2011 The Bank of Spain has warned that the economy has worsened, rattling investor confidence in Europe's fourth biggest economy just as recently installed prime minister Mariano Rajoy prepares to unveil his immediate budget plans. 29 Dec 2011 New US claims for unemployment benefits rose higher than expected last week, but the underlying trend continued to point to improving conditions in the jobs market. 29 Dec 2011 Signs that Italy faces a tough start to 2012 were evident on Thursday as the country's final bond sale of the year saw nervous investors demand close to 7pc to hold the ailing nation's 10-year debt. 29 Dec 2011 One of German Chancellor Angela's Merkel's economic advisers, Beatrice Weder di Mauro, has refused to rule out a break-up of the eurozone, in an interview published on Thursday. 29 Dec 2011 Those shoppers out defibrillating the economy are brave - I tend to get trampled in the scrum, says Judith Woods. 29 Dec 2011 British industry faces a wave of strikes during the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, a leading union official has warned. Inflation could be the one relative bright spot for the British economy in 2012, as it is widely expected to slow following a year characterised by high inflation and squeezed incomes. 29 Dec 2011 Italy faces a key bond auction test Thursday at the end of a year in which the eurozone plunged into an unprecedented financial crisis that has threatened the very existence of the single currency. 29 Dec 2011 Italy faces a crucial test on Thursday as the technocrat government of Mario Monti launches its first big auction of long-term bonds since a disastrous upset a month ago. 28 Dec 2011 The French government should concentrate on its own financial problems rather than lashing out at Britain, according to leading US economist Martin Feldstein.Economics
The latest news, analysis and comment on the UK and global economy.
ECONOMICS NEWS
'Fit notes' double time off work for sick employees
The high price of oil has blocked the West's economic escape route
America still the best place to find safe-haven stocks
House prices will remain stagnant or fall in 2012, economists warn
Chinese are the new Big Spenders in town
FTSE 100: Traders stockpile drugs, fags and booze
'Euro will be stable' claim is ridiculed
FTSE 250: Clouds gather over high street as retailers beat a hasty retreat
Spain plans €8.9bn of cuts but warns on deficit
Mortgage debt cut by £8.6bn
Italy seeks boost to bail-out fund
Spain to unveil multi-billion euro austerity cuts
Euro crisis will be solved in 2012 - Schaeuble
CBI: Business investment and exports, the only way forward
Major Dubai companies ‘may need bail-outs’
Spain's economy worsening, says central bank
US jobs market improves despite rise in claims
Italian bond auction highlights eurozone nation's woes
Merkel's adviser refuses to rule out euro break-up
I’m not Alpha woman enough for the sales
UK faces wave of strikes in 2012
Predictions: the end of high inflation
Italy faces key €8bn bond auction
Bond sale puts Italy to the test
Martin Feldstein: French ‘don’t get’ problems at euro’s heart
Sunday, 1 January 2012
29 Dec 2011
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