Our health system has too little market; but while Circle walks away the NHS...
Labour and the Tories will argue about who takes responsibility for the Hinchingbrooke contract but private-sector failures are inevitableWhen the going gets tough, the tough get going. But in private...
View ArticleThe Hinchingbrooke fiasco shows privatisation is no answer to NHS woes | Tom...
The hospital is beset with problems and the contractor – Circle – wants to just walk away. All this could have been predictedThe great delusion of Andrew Lansley was to imagine that by bringing the...
View ArticleSpectre of deflation horrifies bankers, but Japan now has a taste for it
With signs of negative inflation stalking the eurozone, how have Japanese consumers come to terms with years of falling prices?Europeans wondering what life might be like under sustained deflation need...
View ArticleThose who can remember the past are eager to rewrite it. Just ask the Tories
Economic history underwent a major revision when Cameron and Osborne took power. Expect four months more of the sameIt is all George Osborne’s fault. Lord Adonis pointed out in his book on the...
View ArticleThe economics of happiness can make for sad reading
The link between rising incomes and happiness was challenged before the financial crisis but falling living standards have muddied the watersYou have a job. You live in a small town in New Jersey, New...
View ArticleBank governor may be forced to write open letter explaining low inflation
Oil price slump and retail price war may cut inflation to as low as 0.7% making Mark Carney the first governor since 1997 to write formal explanationMark Carney finds out this week if he will be the...
View ArticleDavid Cameron: Labour election win would put UK on path to ruin
Prime minister says more borrowing would lead to extra debt interest and less money to spend on schools and hospitalsBritain will be on the “path to ruin” if Labour takes charge of the public finances,...
View ArticleOfficer at privately run prison ‘was drunk at work on Christmas Day’
Police investigate incident at HMP Northumberland, run by Sodexo Justice Services, where unions have criticised job cutsA police investigation is under way and a prison officer has been suspended after...
View ArticleCongress's financial plan for 2015: curb your enthusiasm
As the 114th Congress opens session, the outlook for bipartisan action is as dim as ever. Below, a survey of the House battle lines on legislation likely to reach the floor this yearAs curtains rise on...
View ArticleFree community college isn't a joke for families who spend half their income...
Rising tuition and student loan debts mean that more students are dropping out of or never go to university. Obama’s plan is a big part of the solutionIn the United States today, the odds of getting a...
View ArticleCameron's deficit speech and Miliband's Q&A: Politics Live blog
Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Cameron’s speech on the deficit and Ed Miliband’s People’s Question TimeCameron’s economy speech -...
View ArticlePay squeeze could cost Treasury more than £100bn, say Labour calculations
Party says low wage growth leaves tax shortfall as Tories claim Ed Balls is promising ‘tax bombshell’ with deficit voteThe Treasury will lose more than £100bn in revenue if wages growth is as much...
View ArticleInflation is low and heading lower - but don’t bank on deflation
Prolonged deflation is unlikely because it is fuelled by a freefalling oil price and a supermarket price warInflation in the UK is low and it is going lower. The chances of a period of falling prices...
View ArticleUK inflation drops to 14-year low: what the economists say
Falling oil prices and supermarket price wars have halved the annual inflation rate to 0.5%Price growth in the UK has hit the lowest level since 2000, as the sharp drop in global oil prices fed through...
View ArticleLabour should stop flinching at every Tory attack and sell its vision to...
Miliband is caught between detractors of the left and right on fiscal policy. But Tory attacks should prove less than deadlyFor a prime minister seeking election on a record of budget discipline, David...
View ArticleGlobal economy’s future hinges on a triple whammy of assumptions
Experts effectively bet on growth, intelligent governance and no accidents – but even the most optimistic gambler would scoffWhen I consider the prospects for the global economy and markets, I am taken...
View ArticleBritain can become world’s richest major economy, says George Osborne
Chancellor was speaking as he set out plans for new fiscal rule requiring government to operate budget surplus in normal timesGeorge Osborne has set out plans requiring the government to operate an...
View Article‘Corporate wolves’ will exploit TTIP trade deal, MPs warned
Commons debate told that Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership risks giving too much power to big US corporationsThe controversial TTIP trade deal between Europe and the US could depress...
View ArticleLabour urged to build new relationship with business
Fabian report calls on Ed Milband to make ‘comprehensive offer’ to business leaders and dwell on positive aspects of marketsEd Miliband has been urged by one of the left’s leading thinktanks to counter...
View ArticleIMF chief hails UK economic recovery
David Cameron ‘delighted’ after Christine Lagarde says British economy provides ‘eloquent and convincing’ leadership for EUThe head of the International Monetary Fund has handed David Cameron a helpful...
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