Fund says economic benefits of decade-long expansion have not been widely sharedThe increasingly polarised US economy has meant that a record-breaking period of growth has been accompanied by falling life expectancy, high levels of poverty and stagnant living standards for average Americans, the International Monetary Fund has said.In its annual health check on the world’s biggest economy, the IMF highlighted a range of “troubling” social indicators marring a decade-long expansion which in July will be the longest in the country’s history.The impact of rising suicides and drug overdoses on falling life expectancy, now one of the lowest in the G7.A rise of just 2.2% in inflation-adjusted incomes for the median US household since the end of the 1990s, even though per capita incomes have risen by 23%.A decrease in wealth among the poorest 40% of the population since 1983.The fact that 45 million Americans live in poverty.An erosion of social mobility so that half of today’s young American adults earn less than their parents did at a similar age. Forty years ago the figure was 10%.Poor education outcomes by international standards despite devoting a bigger slice of national income to schools and colleges. Continue reading...

French government blamed as €33bn deal to create world’s third-largest carmaker stallsThe proposed €33bn (£29bn) merger of Fiat Chrysler and Renault has collapsed after an intervention from the French government, Renault’s biggest shareholder.Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-American company, withdrew from a 50-50 merger proposal with its French rival after a board meeting on Wednesday. A deal would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker behind Volkswagen and Toyota. Continue reading...

The economic arguments adopted by Britain and the US in the 1980s led to vastly increased inequality – and gave the false impression that this outcome was not only inevitable, but good. By Jonathan AldredIn most rich countries, inequality is rising, and has been rising for some time. Many people believe this is a problem, but, equally, many think there’s not much we can do about it. After all, the argument goes, globalisation and new technology have created an economy in which those with highly valued skills or talents can earn huge rewards. Inequality inevitably rises. Attempting to reduce inequality via redistributive taxation is likely to fail because the global elite can easily hide their money in tax havens. Insofar as increased taxation does hit the rich, it will deter wealth creation, so we all end up poorer.One strange thing about these arguments, whatever their merits, is how they stand in stark contrast to the economic orthodoxy that existed from roughly 1945 until 1980, which held that rising inequality was not inevitable, and that various government policies could reduce it. What’s more, these policies appear to have been successful. Inequality fell in most countries from the 1940s to the 1970s. The inequality we see today is largely due to changes since 1980.Related: The finance curse: how the outsized power of the City of London makes Britain poorer Continue reading...

Trump has said a 5% tariff on Mexican goods will go into effect Monday if no agreement is reachedSign up for the US briefing and get a new perspective1.44am BST12.30am BSTHere’s a dispatch from David Agren, our correspondent in Mexico:Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said talks will continue tomorrow, but that US officials focused more on migration matters than tariffs today. That’s a departure from past years, when US and Mexican officials tried to keep matters like trade, security and migration separate.11.50pm BSTPresident Trump issued a statement via tweet on the US-Mexico talks around tariffs and immigration:Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day. Progress is being made, but not nearly enough! Border arrests for May are at 133,000 because of Mexico & the Democrats in Congress refusing to budge on immigration reform. Further.......talks with Mexico will resume tomorrow with the understanding that, if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule. The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!11.47pm BSTSenator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs serving her Iraq, took umbrage with the comments that President Trump made regarding the Vietnam War and military service. She responded to his remarks today:#CadetBoneSpurs: no one cares whether you were a “fan” of the Vietnam War. No one believes you were medically unfit to serve. You used your wealth & privilege to avoid serving your country five times, forcing another American to serve in your place each time. 1/ https://t.co/bSZbQlnWMfNow, you're stealing billions from @DeptofDefense's budget to fund a wall you promised Mexico would pay for. You're failing to support military families by taking away caregiver funding. You're kicking out Americans who *are* willing to serve only because they're transgender. 2/Sane people aren't "fans" of war—only #StableGeniuses would even think that. I’ve met many #WWII #DDay Vets. None ever said they were fans of war. They simply answered their nation’s call, regardless of what they thought. Especially during the draft—it wasn’t optional for them 3/These comments only make one thing clear: @realDonaldTrump got his deferments for the wrong thing. They shouldn't have been for his disappearing, imaginary bone spurs—they should have been for that yellow streak down his back. At least that would have been a real condition. 4/411.13pm BST⚡️#MexicoTariffs

Crucial CVA that would have saved Arcadia from administration has been postponed for a week as some landlords refuse to help Philip Green

Italy’s debt amounts to 132% and servicing it costs more than annual education budgetThe EU is poised to punish Italy over its “snowballing” spending and borrowing, putting Brussels on a collision course with the populist government in Rome.In a move expected to raise tensions with Italy, the European commission paved the way for an initial fine of as much as €3.5bn (£3.1bn) on Wednesday after advising the country had met the threshold for disciplinary action. Continue reading...

Christine Lagarde says world must avoid the ‘self-inflicted wounds’ of a tit-for-tat wrangleThe International Monetary Fund has called for a speedy end to the deepening trade war between the United States and China after calculating that the tit-for-tat tariffs will cost $455bn (£357.5bn) in lost output next year – more than the size of South Africa’s economy.Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, underlined her organisation’s growing concern at the most serious outbreak of trade tension since the 1930s and said “self-inflicted wounds” had to be avoided. Continue reading...

PMI increased to a three-month high of 51 in May from 50.4 in AprilBritain’s services sector failed to keep the economy afloat last month, registering a modest increase in activity that was not enough to offset falling output in the manufacturing and construction sectors.The IHS Markit purchasing managers index (PMI) for the services sector, which mainly covers business-to-business activity, increased to a three-month high of 51 in May from 50.4 in April, following a rise in domestic orders. A figure above 50 indicates growth. Continue reading...

Brexit and trade disputes push bank’s policy uncertainty index to record high, says reportDonald Trump’s trade wars with China, Mexico and Europe have sent global investment tumbling, according to a World Bank report that forecasts worldwide growth this year will slip back to levels not seen since 2016.The Washington-based lender to developing world countries said in its half-yearly global health check that spiralling political uncertainty was to blame for a slowdown in trade and a collapse in investment spending that will push down GDP growth to 2.6% this year “before inching up to 2.7% in 2020”. Continue reading...

Mainstream parties need to offer narratives, and policies, that address the underlying economic grievances of votersPeterborough is a smallish city in eastern England with a fast-growing population of European migrants attracted by its factories, warehouses and agricultural work. On the edge of the Fens, it sits on top of two faultlines in British politics: those of culture and class. When the city voted to leave the European Union in 2016, it seemed to be reacting against the ethos of the times – against immigration, against diversity, against pluralism. But less than 12 months later, in the general election, Jeremy Corbyn’s leftwing Labour party won in Peterborough. Despite Ukip pulling out to avoid splitting the rightwing vote in 2017, Stewart Jackson, the pro-Brexit Conservative MP, lost his seat.With recent history as a guide, it might seem that when elections in places like Peterborough are fought on the territory of identity, the battle favours the right; when the contest is about economics, then progressives find the going easier. If that is the case, then both the main parties, so badly bruised by last month’s European polls, have much to fear this week in Peterborough – not least as the byelection only came about because the former Labour MP, Fiona Onasanya, was removed by a recall petition after being jailed for lying about a speeding offence. With Britain’s future relationship with the EU still unresolved, Nigel Farage’s rightwing populist Brexit party looks set to mop up. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Britain’s building sector suffers its worst month in over a year

94 academics and representatives of civil society organisations call for Mark Carney’s successor to be someone who will foster a pluralistic policymaking cultureEleven o’clock on Wednesday evening is the deadline for applicants to put themselves forward to be the next governor of the Bank of England. Candidates are asked to commit to an eight-year term lasting until 2028. By then the world will be a very different place. Three key trends will shape their time in post.First, environmental breakdown is the biggest threat facing the planet. The next governor must build on Mark Carney’s legacy, and go even further to act on the Bank’s warnings by accelerating the transition of finance away from risky fossil fuels. Second, rising inequality, fuelled to a significant extent by monetary policy, has contributed to a crisis of trust in our institutions. The next governor must be open and honest about the trade-offs the Bank is forced to make, and take a critical view of how its policies impact on wider society. Third, the UK economy is increasingly unbalanced and skewed towards asset price inflation. Banks pour money into bidding up the value of pre-existing assets, with only £1 in every £10 they lend supporting non-financial firms. The next governor must seriously consider introducing measures to guide credit away from speculation towards productive activities. Continue reading...

In a Conservative leadership contest mired in Brexit, only a few could say the unsayableWelcome to the Guardian’s weekly Brexit briefing, trying to make sense of the nonsensical since June 2016. If you would like to receive this as a weekly email, please sign up here. And you can catch our monthly Brexit Means podcast here.UK factory output shrinks on back of Brexit uncertaintyMore EU citizens are seeking help for stress and anxiety over BrexitTrouble brews at the court of King CorbynDonald Trump: send in Nigel Farage to negotiate with the EUConservative MP Phillip Lee loses vote of no confidenceBrexit too complicated for referendum, says Jared DiamondUK consumer borrowing sees lowest rise since 2014 on Brexit fearsEU citizens in UK at risk of Windrush-style catastrophe, say MPsEU chief negotiator blames Brexit on ‘nostalgia for the past’John Bercow staying on as Speaker ‘may not be enough to stop no-deal’EU promotes deputy Brexit negotiator to senior trade jobLabour chair: some remainers are sneering at ordinary peopleEU students will not face Brexit penalty next yearTory members have drunk the Kool-Aid when it comes to Brexit: for them, it has ceased to be a geopolitical and commercial process and become a religion. Three-quarters of them favour a no-deal exit – far ahead of any other option. It is not just that they fear the Brexit party. They want to be the Brexit party. They long for the simplicity of Farage’s demagoguery, the uncomplicated fervour of his rallies. After three years of parliamentary drudgery, they crave the politics of spectacle, excitement and tub-thumping vindication … It is extraordinary to think that, not so very long ago, the Conservatives considered themselves – with statistics on their side – as the “natural party of government”. Now they more closely resemble a herd of lemmings, squeaking furiously about who should lead them to oblivion. How noisy the Tories have become, and how small.If, on 31 October 2019, the fanatics and the Faragists win and we crash out of the EU, that moment, when the borders close, and the markets open, and the truth sinks in, will not be Britain’s “Independence Day”. A hard Brexit would be so damaging to the true interests of the UK that what might follow – if we are lucky – is a great unmasking, not just of the political fantasists and chancers who peddled the great Brexit swindle, but of the historical delusion that empowered them. The most extreme among the Brexiters are convinced they can ride the chaos and deploy the “shock doctrine” to remake the nation in their ideological image. But awoken from our dreamtimes by the smelling salts of economic reality, Britain might go the other way and begin the process that would see us start to decolonise our history and our self-image. Through such a process, Britain would, in effect, become the last country to leave the British empire. No matter what happens at Halloween, the dangers of England’s dreaming are surely now clear and manifest.#Liverpool supportes didn't miss their chance to spread their #brexit view.

British Retail Consortium says sales are down 2.7%, blaming uncertainty over BrexitBritain’s retailers are warning of a fresh wave of job losses and store closures after its health check of consumer spending showed the biggest drop in almost a quarter of a century last month.Blaming the political uncertainty that also led to a contraction in manufacturing, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said sales were down 2.7% – the weakest performance since it began its monthly survey in 1995. Continue reading...

Party is developing a taste for their opponents’ blood and shaking up fiscal policyEmboldened by unprecedented highs in the European elections in Germany, a surging Green party is discovering that it can set the political agenda in Europe’s largest economy without having to be in power.The party that was once derided for its plans for a meat-free “veggie day” at nationwide canteens is developing a taste for their opponents’ blood: pushing other parties to adopt their policies, laying down red lines for coalition talks and even hatching plans to slay the country’s holy cows on fiscal policy.Related: European elections: triumphant Greens demand more radical climate action Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as British manufacturing shrinks for the first time since July 2016

Manufacturers in eurozone hit by even sharper slowdown than in BritainThe government has been sent a warning signal that Brexit uncertainty is pushing Britain’s manufacturing sector into recession as the latest industry health check showed the weakest performance since the aftermath of the EU referendum three years ago.Order books shrank rapidly after a period when businesses had been stockpiling goods in the run-up to the original Brexit deadline at the end of March, according to the regular monthly survey conducted for the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply by the research group IHS Markit.Related: No-deal Brexit would be economic lunacy, say UK manufacturersThe purchasing managers' indices, or PMIs, track services sector companies, manufacturers and building firms around the world. Continue reading...

Some in Tory leadership race ready to go against warnings of major business lobby groupsBritain’s biggest manufacturing organisation has described the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal as “economic lunacy” amid a slump in business investment intentions.Multiple candidates to replace Theresa May as Conservative party leader and prime minister have said they would push for Brexit on 31 October, whether or not a deal has been agreed – against the warnings of every major business lobby group.Related: UK factory output shrinks on back of Brexit uncertainty Continue reading...

Trump administration reportedly considered taxing imports of the metal over concerns they had grown too quicklyThe Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison has downplayed – but not denied – speculation the United States considered placing trade tariffs on Australian aluminium imports last week.The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had discussed placing tariffs on Australian aluminium, which, under a deal struck by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, remains exempt from tariffs Donald Trump placed on metal imports to the US in 2018.Related: Donald Trump is lashing out at Mexico but his real fight is at home | Phillip InmanRelated: Trump’s banning of Huawei could be the beginning of the biggest trade war ever | John Naughton Continue reading...

Democrats are turning a president enraged at the blocking of his border wall into an unhinged beastDonald Trump’s threats of higher import tariffs against Mexican goods can be better understood not as an escalation of his trade war with the rest of the world, but as the act of a desperate man, prepared to upset most US business leaders to achieve his aim of building a border wall with the country’s southern neighbour.His anger, which he will bring with him on a state visit to London on Monday, is not so much with Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration in Mexico City as with Congress, which has blocked the border wall, or at least restricted funding to such an extent that its completion is unlikely before the next presidential race gets under way. Continue reading...

US president to use state visit to promote House of Trump as he doubles down on Brexit betDonald Trump’s state visit this week to the UK is being promoted as a celebration of a close alliance tempered through war.It could be more accurately described as a personal lap of victory for the US president, performed largely at the expense of his hosts.Related: Trump's coming to see the Queen but what actually happens on a state visit? – podcastTravelling TrumpsAfter arriving in the UK on Air Force One on Monday 3 June, US president Donald Trump will be formally welcomed in a ceremony in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. It will be attended by the Queen and Prince Charles. The president will then attend a private lunch at the palace, which is expected to be attended by Prince Harry, but not his wife, who Trump recently described as 'nasty'. Continue reading...

The consensus around Labour’s Euroscepticism is collapsing. The party must change its stance radically, and urgentlyI am told that, shortly before the elections for the European parliament, Jeremy Corbyn was flirting with the idea of being less hostile towards the Remain campaign. Even he could read the opinion polls. However, according to my informant, he was immediately sat upon by his spin doctor, Seumas Milne, and other members of the politburo of what passes for the modern Labour party.The policy of so-called “constructive ambiguity” remained in place, with all too predictable results at the polls. This approach was tested to destruction, thereby proving what had been obvious for some time: that it was, in truth, a policy of destructive ambiguity.I wonder if Lavery is aware that, in his contempt for intellectuals, he is sneering at great Labour figures of the past Continue reading...

Contract workers prop up big earners but under Trump’s anti-labor administration are ruthlessly exploited themselvesUber just filed its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company. Although it lost $1bn, investors may still do well because the losses appear to be declining.Related: The Uber drivers forced to sleep in parking lots to make a decent livingThe standard economic measures – unemployment and income – look better than Americans feelCalifornia is countering Trump on this, as on other issuesRelated: Gig economy: California bill granting employee status passes assemblyRobert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. He is also a columnist for Guardian US Continue reading...

Two decades of public health improvements have stalled, says IPPR thinktankMore than 130,000 deaths in the UK since 2012 could have been prevented if improvements in public health policy had not stalled as a direct result of austerity cuts, according to a hard-hitting analysis to be published this week.The study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank finds that, after two decades in which preventable diseases were reduced as a result of spending on better education and prevention, there has been a seven-year “perfect storm” in which state provision has been pared back because of budget cuts, while harmful behaviours among people of all ages have increased. Continue reading...

April’s annual growth drops from 6.4% in March to 5.9% as households cut borrowingConsumers increased their borrowing in April at the slowest pace since 2014, revealing a reluctance to buy goods on credit amid persistent Brexit uncertainty.The annual growth rate in unsecured consumer lending dropped to 5.9% from 6.4% in March, as households limited their spending on credit cards and cut back on finance deals to purchase a new car. Not since June 2014 has the rate of borrowing growth been so low, the Bank of England said. Continue reading...

After 5% tariff announced, president tweets ‘Mexico has taken advantage of the US for decades’Donald Trump has defended his decision to impose new tariffs on Mexico as stock markets worldwide were rattled by fears of an escalation in trade tensions.“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump tweeted. “Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!”Related: Markets shaken as Trump announces shock Mexico tariffs – as it happenedTariffs are border taxes charged on foreign imports. Importers pay them upon entry to the customs agency of the country or bloc imposing them.Related: ‘The people applaud him’: Amlo receives in-flight serenade from passenger Continue reading...

Levies to start on 10 June linked to ‘remedying illegal immigration’

US to place 5% tariff on goods as Mexico president says ‘social problems aren’t resolved with taxes’Donald Trump has announced that he is placing a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports to pressure the country to do more to curb immigration into the US, in a surprise move that has rattled markets.The US president said the tariff would gradually increase “until the illegal immigration problem is remedied”. He made the announcement via Twitter after telling reporters earlier on Thursday he was planning “a major statement” that would be his “biggest” so far about the border.Related: Markets shaken as Trump announces shock Mexico tariffs – business liveTariffs are border taxes charged on foreign imports. Importers pay them upon entry to the customs agency of the country or bloc imposing them. Continue reading...

Bank of England suggests disconnect between investors’ attitudes and uncertaintyThe Bank of England has warned the value of shares and other assets could fall sharply if financial markets are underestimating the risks of a fresh crisis.Dave Ramsden, the Bank’s deputy governor responsible for banks and markets, said there was a disconnect between heightened levels of global policy uncertainty and the relatively relaxed attitude of investors. Continue reading...

World’s second-largest economy is not afraid of a trade war, says senior diplomat

For decades the US and others have pursued a free-market agenda which has failed spectacularlyWhat kind of economic system is most conducive to human wellbeing? That question has come to define the current era, because, after 40 years of neoliberalism in the United States and other advanced economies, we know what doesn’t work.The neoliberal experiment – lower taxes on the rich, deregulation of labour and product markets, financialisation, and globalisation – has been a spectacular failure. Growth is lower than it was in the quarter-century after the second world war, and most of it has accrued to the very top of the income scale. After decades of stagnant or even falling incomes for those below them, neoliberalism must be pronounced dead and buried.There is no magic bullet that can reverse the damage done by decades of neoliberalism Continue reading...

Senior official says China is ‘not afraid’ of a trade war as Beijing signals potential restrictions on rare-earth exportsProvoking trade disputes is “naked economic terrorism“, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday, ramping up the rhetoric against the US amid a bitter trade war that shows no signs of ending soon.Zhang Hanhui, China’s vice foreign minister told reporters in Beijing China opposed the use of “big sticks” such as trade sanctions, tariffs and protectionism.The roots of the dispute come from US president Donald Trump’s “America first” project to protect the US’ position as the world’s leading economy, while encouraging businesses to hire more workers in the US and to manufacture their products there.Related: Global markets fall as China prepares to hit back at US in trade warUS President Donald Trump Trump has often repeated that China pays for US tariffs on its goods. 'We have billions of dollars coming into our treasury from China. We never had 10 cents coming into our treasury; now we have billions coming in' he said on 24 January 2019. On 5 May he tweeted: 'For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA.' Continue reading...

UK2070 commission urges government to emulate German reunification to bridge gapLondon and the south-east will see more than half of the UK’s future job growth if the government does not address the massive gulf between the capital and everywhere else, an independent inquiry into the UK’s deep–rooted inequalities has warned.Bob Kerslake, the former head of the civil service and chair of the UK2070 commission on regional inequality, said the UK was going “materially in the wrong direction”. He urged the government to take lessons from Germany in reunifying the country by setting up a £250bn “national renewal fund”.Related: Tackling inequality means addressing divisions that go way beyond income | Gaby HinsliffMuch greater devolution of powers and funding, including the creation of four new “super regional” economic development agencies.A spatial plan to guide the future development of the whole of the UK.Action to harness new technologies and strengthen local economies. Continue reading...

US president’s target has tended to be Beijing but his focus is likely to turn more to the Federal ReserveStock markets around the world are sending a message to Donald Trump: end your trade war with China or face the nightmare scenario of running for a second term in the White House with the economy in serious trouble.The big falls seen on the world’s major bourses this week are the result of one thing: the growing fear of the impact of the standoff between Washington and Beijing on trade, industrial production and business confidence.Related: US-China trade: what are rare-earth metals, and what's the dispute? Continue reading...

This devastating expose met the people in need whose lives are being ruined by government cuts. Anything slashed by two-thirds is no longer fit for purpose‘Hope I die before I get old,” sang the Who in 1965. What was written in the spirit of nihilistic affectation now sounds, for their generation and the aged cohorts behind them, like a heartfelt prayer.Panorama’s Crisis in Care: Who Cares? (BBC One) is the result of the BBC social affairs correspondent Alison Holt’s 10-month investigation into the travails of four families in Somerset living with someone with complex care needs and the problems of the local council in fulfilling its duty to meet them.Any questioning of (let alone response from) the government was conspicuous by its absence Continue reading...

Dow Jones slumps after Beijing signals readiness to restrict exports of rare-earth elementsFinancial markets around the world have sold off sharply after Beijing signalled a readiness to strike back at Washington in their escalating trade war by restricting exports of rare-earth elements.Wall Street recorded steep losses on Wednesday as the Dow Jones slumped to the lowest level in almost four months, losing about 221 points to trade at 25,126. The S&P 500 index also fell to a two-month low, sliding by 19 points to 2,783.Related: US-China trade: what are rare-earth metals and what's the dispute?Related: Trump needs to make peace with China and get a cut in interest rates | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Central bank says that growth slowdown threatens financial stability

The metals are used to produce a number of goods, including mobile phones and camerasWhat are rare-earth metals?

Three of the key players co-author a book about lessons of the past and make proposals for the futureJournalists, the adage goes, write the first rough draft of history. It’s a grand claim but perhaps the best of them achieve something close to that. In the case of the great financial crisis of 2008, Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times did so in his book Too Big to Fail, which remains a useful description of how it felt on Wall Street when the markets began to collapse. Sorkin had good access to the key people involved.The second draft of history is often written by the key people themselves. After the second world war, Winston Churchill confidently asserted that history would treat him kindly because “I propose to write that history”. When the financial crisis erupted, the same thought may have crossed the minds of Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner, who were US Treasury secretary, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank and president of the New York Fed, respectively. All three published lengthy memoirs explaining why they did and didn’t, do what they did and didn’t do – inevitably, with a degree of self-justification in each case.Related: How the Amazon-Google-Uber effect sets inflation | Mohamed El-ErianDonald Trump is doing what he can to stop them by heckling from the sidelines Continue reading...

Drop in finances is a reflection of austerity drive imposed by Tory-led governmentsCouncil spending on local services has fallen by more than a fifth since 2010, according to a report from Britain’s leading independent economics thinktank.In a reflection of the austerity drive imposed on local authorities by Conservative-led governments during the past decade, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said spending on services in England had fallen by 21% between 2009-10 and 2017-18. Continue reading...

The process gets underway to fill the top jobs at key EU institutions including the European Central Bank

Each month we look at key indicators to see what effect the Brexit process has had on growth, prosperity and trade

Two former members of Bank of England’s rate-setting committee on Britain’s economic prospects

While stockpiling gave growth a boost, uncertainty is delaying investment and pay increases

IFS study shows Conservatives wrong to plan tax cuts, says John McDonnellThe UK tax system does help reduce the country’s wealth inequality problem, according to a report released on Monday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, but benefits still do most of the heavy lifting.The findings were seized on by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who said the IFS’s evidence showed that the government was wrong to plan tax cuts. Continue reading...

A new chancellor would have to decide on the spending review and the next Bank of England governorThe Conservative hopefuls lining up to replace Theresa May can be divided into two categories: those with a chance of becoming prime minister and those who see a tilt at the premiership as a way of securing promotion in the new Cabinet. There will be plenty in the second group who fancy their chances of becoming chancellor of the exchequer.There are circumstances in which Philip Hammond could stay at the Treasury. Graham Brady might come from nowhere and decide that continuity is a precious commodity in current circumstances. One of the Brexiters in the running for PM might want to reach out to the remainers in the Conservative party. Continue reading...

British Steel’s collapse reveals the common fate of industries left to fall into the hands of private equityAcross the Midlands and north of England – and in pockets of the south – there are once proud single-industry towns laid low, with no determined effort to make good what once was. It could be Chatham and Rochester in Kent – or Birkenhead, Wigan or Mansfield further north.They survive as economies in which the main business is providing the foundational goods and services necessary to get by – supermarkets, petrol stations, hospitals, care homes. But there are few thriving private sector companies in 21st-century industries, a paucity of opportunity, and wages are below the national average.The high-speed rail network HS2 is set to be put on 'pause' by a scorched-earth Tory government Continue reading...

The ‘alt-right’ would have us believe that the EU is a leftist cabal. It’s actually working for a much more sinister groupWhatever the outcome of the European Union elections, it is only a matter of months before Theresa May’s successor is handed the task of scuttling over to Brussels in a desperate attempt to secure a fresh Brexit deal.When they return empty-handed – which is certain when the project aims to secure access to the customs union, minus any treaty obligations or the Irish backstop – failure will be blamed on forces inside Europe’s “deep state”. A no-deal Brexit can only be the fault of Brussels – and that will be the public relations spin. Continue reading...

Sterling is under pressure after Theresa May announces she’ll resign in June, paving the way for a Brexiteer successor