UK GDP: five key charts
Britain’s economy grew by 0.7% in the third quarter, but the detail in the data suggest the recovery remained reliant on the consumer while business investment fell unexpectedlyBritain’s economic...
View Article€300bn Jean-Claude Juncker eurozone kickstarter sounds too good to be true
Juncker infrastructure plan offers too little, too late – but at least EC president recognises austerity is the problemA €300bn (£240bn)plan to revive the eurozone economy. A blueprint that will use...
View ArticleJon Cruddas praises Tory adoption of Labour’s cities agenda
Labour’s head of policy review says the chancellor has made successful land grab of Labour’s agenda on cities and English devolutionThe chancellor, George Osborne, has made a significant and successful...
View ArticleAccurate figures on the UK’s wealth | Letters
Many contributors bemoan UK’s inability to distribute wealth fairly and provide world-class public services (Owen Jones, 24 November). We are repeatedly informed that the UK is one of the richest...
View ArticleWe should cash-bomb the people - not the banks | Simon Jenkins
Juncker’s new fund will do little to head off Europe’s lost decade, as Friedman and Keynes would agreeAbandon helicopters. Use bombers. Bomb Germany, France, Italy, Greece, the entire eurozone. Bomb...
View ArticleUK GDP growth: fears mount that plan to rebalance economy is failing
Falling investment and exports allied with largely static industrial output affirms concerns that recovery is dependent on consumerBritain’s recovery remained on track in the third quarter but fresh...
View ArticleJuncker’s investment plan: how to radically transform it | Mariana Mazzucato...
The Eurozone needs investment, not austerity. Juncker should embrace mission-oriented public investment to shape and create markets in health, energy, climate and inclusionToday the European...
View ArticleRoyal Mail stake will not be sold off, vows Vince Cable
Business secretary pledges not to sell off government’s 30% stake for ‘foreseeable future’ as share price continues to fallThe government has ruled out selling off its remaining 30% stake in Royal Mail...
View ArticleOil price plunges after Opec split keeps output steady
Reduced energy cost should boost British economy but experts warn North Sea oil industry faces slumpOil prices have crashed to a new four-year low, below $72 per barrel, after a major split inside Opec...
View ArticleInterest rate rise will come next summer, economists predict
Poll of economists finds that July to September 2015 is the likely time for Bank of England actionThe UK’s first interest rate rise will come no earlier than July next year but probably by the end of...
View Article£17bn hole in tax receipts has wrecked deficit-cutting plan, TUC study shows
Union body blames low-wage economy and lack of earnings growth means government is collecting £17bn less than forecast this yearBritain’s low-wage recovery has restricted income tax receipts and...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne has snared his party in its own austerity trap
The deficit has not been eliminated. Depressed living standards are barely rising. This is not ‘job done’, but a record of failureAfter his stunning speech on the eve of the Scottish referendum, Gordon...
View ArticleThe north hits back at Osborne’s austerity: ‘it’s devolution or bust’
The chancellor will use his autumn statement to talk of creating a ‘northern powerhouse’ – but England’s regions are sufferingIn his office in Newcastle, the Labour leader of the local council, Nick...
View ArticleSix key questions for George Osborne to answer in his speech on Wednesday
George Osborne, the chancellor, presents his autumn statement this week against a backdrop of slowing economic growthWhy is the government not meeting its deficit targets?Despite his austerity drive,...
View ArticleAutumn statement: Osborne only has scrawny rabbits to pull out of his hat |...
The chancellor’s failure to meet his deficit targets leaves him with no money to hand out pre-election bribesOn Wednesday, George Osborne will stand before MPs to present his “autumn financial...
View ArticleJim O’Neill: ‘My task is to build a global consensus on antibiotics by 2016’
The economist who coined the term Bric on ‘Manpool’, Man United – and solving the global antibiotics crisisJim O’Neill is the former chief economist of Goldman Sachs who in 2001 coined the acronym...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne’s autumn statement: I’m afraid there is no money
Chancellor’s extra NHS cash is equivalent to rummaging down the back of the sofa for change to feed the electricity meterI’m afraid there is no money. Those six little words have shaped George...
View ArticlePolitical uncertainty threatens UK economy despite ‘healthy’ growth
CBI says growth remained stable up to November and has returned to sustainable levels – but there are hurdles aheadThe UK economy maintained “healthy” growth over the last three months but faces...
View ArticleFour years on: from the emergency budget to the autumn statement 2014
What union bosses, analysts and thinktanks said after George Osborne’s emergency budget in 2010 and what they say now2010Continue reading...
View ArticleThe Guardian view on George Osborne’s plans for a deficit law: it’s stupid...
Binding the next government to eliminate the UK’s structural budget deficit by 2018 is clever only in the pejorative senseThere may once have been a serious economic purpose behind this week’s autumn...
View Article