Economics
The latest news, analysis and comment on the UK and global economy.
ECONOMICS NEWS
EU leaders holding up vital Greek debt deal
Pressure from European Union leaders for more fundamental reforms in Greece is holding up the vital debt deal that would mean private creditors to the country taking losses of as much as 70pc.
28 Jan 2012
| 1 CommentEuro leaders braced for tense summit
Crackling tension in Davos is set to spill over into a charged EU summit
28 Jan 2012
| 8 CommentsWeek ahead: Jan 30 - Feb 3
Royal Dutch Shell, BT and Ryanair are among the companies to update investors on performance this week.
28 Jan 2012
| CommentIs David Cameron surrendering his veto to Europe?
If he caves in to Brussels, the Prime Minister will miss a huge opportunity, argues Iain Martin.
28 Jan 2012
| 35 CommentsGreek PM to meet banks on 'tough day'
Negotiations between Greece and its private creditors continued this weekend in a desperate attempt to secure a preliminary deal before Monday's European Union summit.
28 Jan 2012
| 118 CommentsPension income driven down by Bank printing extra money
The Bank of England’s emergency programme of printing money to support the economy has helped push pension incomes to record lows, its own figures showed yesterday.
28 Jan 2012
| 51 CommentsDebt crisis: as it happened - January 27, 2011
Fitch has cut the credit ratings of five eurozone countries including Spain and Italy, but held Ireland's rating unchanged, as the outlook worsens for the region's indebted nations.
27 Jan 2012
| 306 CommentsOsborne gets power over BoE in a crisis
The Chancellor will have the power to force the Bank of England to pump cash into failing lenders in a future financial crisis under radical new laws published on Friday.
27 Jan 2012
| 27 CommentsUS fourth-quarter growth of 2.8pc disappoints
The US economy grew less than forecast in the final quarter of last year, according to new figures that economists say signal the first three months of this year are likely to be weaker.
27 Jan 2012
| 24 CommentsDavos 2012: as it happened, January 27
Europe needs to "show the colour of their money" before Britain will stump up more cash to bail out its struggling countries, George Osborne has said.
27 Jan 2012
| 64 CommentsGerman minister hits out at Britain over fiscal treaty
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble took a jab at Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, blaming him for Europe's failure to agree a common debt-reduction treaty.
27 Jan 2012
| 76 CommentsBill Gates: 'I wrote Steve Jobs a letter as he was dying. He kept it by his bed’
People’s plutocrat Bill Gates talks about friendly rivalry, and how to get bankers to part with their money. By Mary Riddell.
27 Jan 2012
| 154 CommentsUS growth expectations cemented by spending
An increase in spending by US companies last month has cemented expectations that the world's largest economy accelerated in the final quarter of 2011.
26 Jan 2012
| 3 CommentsChancellor unveils new powers to rein in banks
The Treasury will on Friday publish plans for a radical overhaul of financial regulation that will hand the Chancellor new powers to take charge in a crisis and rein in the might of the Bank of England.
26 Jan 2012
| 53 CommentsDebt crisis: as it happened, January 26, 2011
State-backed lender Royal Bank of Scotland has awarded chief executive Stephen Hester an annual bonus of 3.6m shares, worth £996,000 at today's closing price.
26 Jan 2012
| 615 CommentsCan the Germans stop being German?
Angela Merkel will eventually be forced to accept the inevitable, says Jeremy Warner.
26 Jan 2012
| 486 CommentsNick Clegg is right to sound the alarm on Osbornomics
Where are the Conservative ideas on stimulating economic growth, asks FraserNelson.
26 Jan 2012
| 320 CommentsChina and Africa to be centre of world trade
Stephen King, group economist at HSBC, has predicted a return to the world economy of 1,000 years ago - with the centre of world trade centred on China, India, Indonesia, and the east coast of Africa.
26 Jan 2012
| 6 CommentsRetail sales suffer biggest fall in three years
Retail sales fell by their largest annual amount in three years during January, according to the latest gloomy set of economic figures.
26 Jan 2012
| 21 CommentsGates: Don't ignore the hungry
Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft turned philanthropist, urged the G20 to keep world hunger on the agenda despite the financial crisis, as he pledged $750m to the global Aids fund.
26 Jan 2012
| 9 Comments'Minimum wage destroys jobs'
Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Prudential, has branded minimum wage legislation across Europe an "enemy" of young people and a "machine to destroy jobs".
26 Jan 2012
| 31 CommentsIreland is 'posterchild' for indebted Europe
Ireland's efforts to impose tough austerity measures and radical public spending cuts is a model that all European countries should adopt, the prime minister of Finland said at Davos.
26 Jan 2012
| CommentDavos 2012: as it happened, January 26, 2012
World Trade Organization's Pascal Lamy warns the West not to make a 'bogeyman' out of China.
26 Jan 2012
| 109 CommentsOlli Rehn: more public money could be needed for Greek bailout
The European Union's top economic official Olli Rehn has said that more public money will be needed to make up a shortfall in a second bailout for Greece if private bondholders agree to take a share of losses.