Markets spooked as US hints it will withdraw QE early
The FTSE100 fell 2% today after the chair of the US Federal Reserve hinted its version of quantitative easing would end early.
Britain 'could do better' in tackling its huge debt
The IMF says plans to reduce government debt are holding the economy back. It's the most forthright criticism yet of Osborne's austerity.
A tough task awaits the BoE Governor's successor
The outgoing Governor of the Bank of England today delivered some good news for "the first time since the financial crisis began" in 2007.
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Co-operative may shut down bank over capital hole
The Co-operative is considering selling or shutting down its struggling bank business while it looks for for ways to fill a black hole in capital, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The Co-op needs to raise up to £1.8bn to balance its bank’s balance sheet.
Markets spooked as US hints it will withdraw QE early
The FTSE100 fell 2% today after the chair of the US Federal Reserve hinted its version of quantitative easing would end early.
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Britain 'could do better' in tackling its huge debt
The IMF says plans to reduce government debt are holding the economy back. It's the most forthright criticism yet of Osborne's austerity.
Read the full story'One in seven' retiring this year has no private pension
Many people retiring will do so below the poverty line, an insurer has warned, as it says one in seven people planning to retire this year has no private pension.
Prudential added that women who are set to retire in 2013 were nearly three times more likely than men to be relying on the state as their sole form of pension income.
Just under 15% of this year's retirees said they had no company or personal pension and their only form of pension income would come from the state.
Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: "The basic state pension alone is not nearly enough to provide a comfortable standard of living."
Reductions in motoring costs cited for UK inflation slide
by Chris Choi - Consumer EditorReductions in motoring costs are said to have brought UK inflation down, but I don't think many drivers would agree.
The fall of the inflation rate to 2.4% is still above the UK target, though.
House prices rose 2.7% in the year to March
House prices rose 2.7% in the year to March, slightly more than in the 12 months to February http://t.co/5m2dFpRvpW
From @statisticsONS on Twitter:Factory gate prices rose 1.1% in the year to April, down from a rise of 1.9% last month. Input prices fell 0.1% http://t.co/56VmH1x5Io
From @statisticsONS on Twitter:Advertisement
CPI inflation rate fell to 2.4% last month from 2.8%
The rate of consumer price index inflation fell to 2.4% in April, from 2.8% in March, official figures showed today.
It is the first time inflation has slowed since Autumn 2012.
Report: Claim surge follows 'bedroom tax'
The number of people claiming extra handouts from councils to meet housing costs has soared following the introduction of the so-called "bedroom tax", figures have revealed.
More than 25,000 people applied for discretionary housing payments (DHP) to help cover their rent in April, compared with 5,700 in the same month last year, according to an analysis of 51 councils by The Independent.
The Government has substantially increased the DHP funding pot for local authorities to help those most affected by the withdrawal of what ministers call the "spare room subsidy".
UK Uncut lose High Court challenge
Campaign group UK Uncut Legal Action has lost its High Court challenge to the legality of the "sweetheart" tax deal between HM Revenue and Customs and Goldman Sachs.
A judge was told the 2010 deal, worth up to £20 million, was allowed to proceed to avoid "major embarrassment" to Chancellor George Osborne.
UK Uncut asked Mr Justice Nicol, sitting in London, to declare that HMRC's decision to let the deal go through was legally flawed and involved a breach of statutory duty.
The judge ruled the deal was "not a glorious episode in the history of the Revenue" but it was not unlawful.
Tax authority lawyers defended the settlement, saying it was among five big business deals declared "reasonable" by a 2012 report of the National Audit Office (NAO).
UK Uncut says it is wrong to allow rich companies to avoid paying millions in tax while the Government imposes tough austerity measures on the poor and ordinary taxpayers are pursued for every penny.
Sir Mervyn King's final forecast shows signs of optimism
In his final forecast as Bank of England governor, Sir Mervyn King gave what he said was his most positive assessment of the economy since the beginning of the most recent economic crisis.
Sir Mervyn predicted growth will be a "little stronger" than previously hoped, setting the UK on course for a "modest and sustained" recovery.
But he warned it will be a "weak and uneven" recovery.
ITV News economics editor Richard Edgar reports:
