Data grabbing | Country diary | Cost of stamps | A question of perspective | Steepest street titleThe solution is surely to use the non-profit Ecosia search engine that plants trees and quite simply guarantees that it protects your data (Together we can thwart big tech’s data grab, Opinion, 7 January)?

The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to November, the weakest rate in six months, dragged lower by a fall in car production

From China to Europe and beyond it is likely to be a nerve-racking yearAs Mark Twain never said: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you think you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Over the course of this year and next, the biggest economic risks will emerge in those areas where investors think recent patterns are unlikely to change. They will include a growth recession in China, a rise in global long-term real interest rates and a crescendo of populist economic policies that undermine the credibility of central bank independence, resulting in higher interest rates on “safe” advanced-country government bonds.A significant Chinese slowdown may already be unfolding. The US president Donald Trump’s trade war has shaken confidence but this is only a downward shove to an economy that was already slowing as it makes the transition from export- and investment-led growth to more sustainable domestic consumption-led growth. How much the Chinese economy will slow is an open question; but, given the inherent contradiction between an ever-more centralised Party-led political system and the need for a more decentralised consumer-led economic system, long-term growth could fall quite dramatically.Related: How will central bankers cope when the next recession comes?The notion that additional debt is a free lunch is foolish Continue reading...

New emission tests, Brexit fears and weak demand apply brakes to wider economyThe British economy slowed in the three months to November as car manufacturing went into reverse amid the broadest drop in industrial production since 2012.In a sign of mounting weakness in the economy, with fewer than 80 days to go before Brexit, the Office for National Statistics said GDP growth cooled to 0.3%, down from a rate of 0.4% in the three months to October.Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key government statistic and provides a measure of the UK's total economic activity.Related: What are biggest risks to the global economy in 2019? | Kenneth Rogoff Continue reading...

Exclusive: Carolyn Fairbairn of industry body will urge MPs to put economy before politics

Weak consumer demand prompts department store chain to consider scrapping bonus for first time since 1953John Lewis is considering suspending its staff bonus for the first time in 66 years in the wake of the worst Christmas for retailers since the depths of the financial crisis.The employee-owned department store group, which also owns Waitrose, said it would “need to consider carefully … whether payment of a bonus is prudent in the light of business and economic prospects at that time”.What's the problem?Related: Sainsbury's Christmas sales hit by struggles at Argos Continue reading...

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras praises new ‘relationship of trust’ with German chancellorAngela Merkel arrived in Greece on Thursday for a two-day visit to the country that has posed some of the greatest challenges of her time at the helm of Europe’s powerhouse economy.It is a trip heavy with symbolism for a leader whose policies have defined the continent and who has announced she will leave office at the end of her term in 2021.Related: Greek PM promises relief measures after years of austerity Continue reading...

Supermarket records best festive sales performance in nearly a decadeTesco has emerged as one of the winners of the Christmas period, reporting its best growth in nearly a decade, while other major retailers such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer suffered.Britain’s biggest retailer posted 2.2% growth in UK like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 5 January, its strongest Christmas performance since December 2009. Sales rose 0.7% in the 13 weeks to 24 November. Continue reading...

Sales by retailer of car accessories and bikes fall as shares slump to six-year lowMore than £120m was wiped off the value of the Halfords bikes and car maintenance chain on Thursday after the retailer issued its second profits warning in a year, blaming mild weather and lower consumer confidence for a fall in sales.The company’s shares slumped by more than 20%, to a six-year low of 217p, as the retailer said that its profits would be only around £60m this year, rather than the £70m City retail analysts had expected.What's the problem? Continue reading...

Beijing talks look to have neatly concluded, just in time for Trump to visit Davos and claim victoryEverything is slotting neatly into place for peace to be declared in the trade war between the US and China. The 90-day truce brokered between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last month is holding and talks at official level in Beijing this week have gone well.China’s eagerness for a deal was shown when Xi’s righthand man on economic issues, Liu He, turned up unexpectedly at the start of this week’s talks. Xi is sensitive to the damage Trump could cause to China’s slowing economy and wants a rapid agreement.Even while running for president, Donald Trump waged a war of words against China, promising punitive import tariffs to “bring back” jobs to America.Related: Shops suffer worst December in a decade as Brexit fears take toll Continue reading...

Trade war with US is handbrake on growth in world’s second biggest economySales of cars in China have dropped for the first time in almost 30 years, a sign of the importance of ending the country’s trade dispute with the US as the world economy begins to falter.As the US and China appeared to be edging closer to ending the trade dispute between them on Wednesday, the figures illustrate how the bitter standoff, as well as sluggish local demand, have acted as a handbrake on growth in the world’s second biggest economy.Related: US-China trade war: is the time ripe for peace to break out? | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Slump in third quarter adds to dismal record on improving efficiency since financial crisisThe productivity growth of British workers fell to a two-year low in the third quarter of last year, according to official figures released amid warnings that failures of government policy and Brexit are holding back efficiency gains.According to the Office for National Statistics, annual growth in economic output per hour of work slumped to 0.2% in the three months to September, down from 1.6% in the second quarter and marking the weakest period since the third quarter of 2016. Continue reading...

Closure of agriculture department offices could not have come at a worse time for farmers awaiting emergency federal aidJust as American farmers thought Donald Trump had rescued them from the economic consequences of his trade war with China, along came the government shutdown.Related: American farmers fear being caught up in Trump's trade warsRelated: The Iowa farmers on the frontline of Trump's trade war with ChinaRelated: Trump administration to provide $12bn in aid to farmers hurt by tariffs Continue reading...

Struggling chain blames ‘worrying’ fall in sales on tough consumer market and move to offer fewer discountsMothercare’s problems continued over the key festive trading period as the retailer blamed a sharp fall in sales on a tough consumer backdrop and its decision to offer fewer discounts than a year earlier.The struggling baby and maternity chain said sales at UK stores open for more than a year fell by 11.4% in the 13 weeks to 5 January, while online sales tumbled by 16.3%.Maplin, Toys R Us and Jacques Vert have all collapsed in recent months, but several retailers and restaurant groups are facing financial problems and are trying to close stores or negotiate rent cuts. Continue reading...

All the day’s economic and financial news, as Germany’s factories suffer a 4.7% annual drop in output

Not just the eurozone at risk but countries further east and south, such as Belarus and TurkeyA no-deal Brexit will have a negative economic impact from Moldova to Morocco, as the shockwaves sweep eastwards across Europe and through trade links to North Africa, the World Bank has warned.Unlike previous reports which focused on the UK and the 27 members of the European Union, the Washington-based organisation said nations from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova in the east, and around the Mediterranean from Turkey and Egypt to Morocco would also suffer should Britain and the EU fail to agree a deal.A hard Brexit would take Britain out of the EU’s single market and customs union and ends its obligations to respect the four freedoms, make big EU budget payments and accept the jurisdiction of the ECJ: what Brexiters mean by “taking back control” of Britain’s borders, laws and money. It would mean a return of trade tariffs, depending on what (if any) FTA was agreed. See our full Brexit phrasebook. Continue reading...

If Europe’s biggest economy bumps into a slump then UK bargaining power may changeTake Europe’s three biggest economies and list them in order of the likelihood of being in recession in the second half of 2018. Chances are Brexit-bound Britain would come first followed by France after its gilets jaunes protests. Germany would come last.In fact, it is the eurozone’s locomotive economy that is at biggest risk of fulfilling the technical definition of recession – two consecutive quarters of falling output. After contracting by 0.2% in the third quarter, the latest news from Germany suggests it may have struggled to grow in the fourth quarter as well. Continue reading...

Andrew Halls of King’s College School writes that there is barely any difference in difficulty between GCSEs and IGCSEs, while Bernie Evans is concerned about the Pre-U examinationsIt is untruthful to suggest that private schools take IGCSEs because they are easier (Labour calls for an inquiry into GCSE changes ‘gamed by private schools’, 31 December).Until 2010, grade inflation had been rampant at both GCSE and A-level for at least a decade. During the years of New Labour, syllabuses were dumbed down, with simplistic coursework a key requirement of almost every subject. For a few unhappy years, GCSEs even became modular, as A-levels then were, so the nation’s children took public exams every single summer from year 10 to year 13. Continue reading...

International aid community shocked by decision to quit three years early and join private sectorJim Yong Kim has announced he is stepping down as the head of the World Bank, in a move that sent shockwaves through the international aid community.He will leave by 1 February, three and a half years before the expiry of his term in 2022.Founded in 1944 at the Bretton Woods conference as a vehicle to support the reconstruction of postwar Europe, the World Bank made its first loan to France in 1947. Continue reading...

Brexit uncertainty and the diesel emissions scandal has hurt demand for new cars, warns industry body

Policymakers who think fiscal policy alone is enough are setting themselves up for a shockIf you ask most central bankers around the world what their plan is for dealing with the next normal-size recession, you would be surprised how many (at least in advanced economies) say “fiscal policy”. Given the high odds of a recession over the next two years – about 40% in the US, for example – monetary policymakers who think fiscal policy alone will save the day are setting themselves up for a rude awakening.Yes, it is true that with policy interest rates near zero in most advanced economies (and just above 2% even in the fast-growing US), there is little room for monetary policy to manoeuvre in a recession without considerable creativity. The best idea is to create an environment in which negative interest-rate policies can be used more fully and effectively. This will eventually happen, but in the meantime, today’s overdependence on countercyclical fiscal policy is dangerously naïve.Related: US and China resume trade talks with both eager for compromise Continue reading...

Asian shares rise as fresh round of negotiations begins amid concerns about a slowdown in the Chinese economyUS and Chinese officials held their first face-to-face negotiations since a 90-day truce was declared in a trade war between Washington and Beijing, in the hope of ending a bruising confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.Hopes that the sixth round of negotiations between the two sides could yield a breakthrough helped Asian shares rise on Monday, combined with optimism about the state of the global economy on the back of strong US jobs figures on Friday.Related: China's moon landing proves it is more than just a paper dragon | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Austerity and wage stagnation to blame for ‘crisis level’ unsecured loans, says TUCBritain’s household debt mountain has reached a new peak, with UK homes now owing an average of £15,385 to credit card firms, banks and other lenders, according to the TUC.The trade union body said household debt rose sharply in 2018 as years of austerity and wage stagnation forced households to increase their borrowing.Related: Britain is crippled by record personal debt while the Tories boast of a boom | Maya Goodfellow Continue reading...

As Donald Trump and Xi Jinping prepare to meet over the tariff war, both sides need a solutionFor the US it was a wake-up call. Convinced that it was a world leader in the knowledge economy, the US was shaken out of its complacency when its communist rival announced a breakthrough in space exploration.More than six decades separates the launch in 1957 by the Soviet Union of Sputnik – the first artificial satellite – and China’s success last week in being the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, but the same question is posed by the two events: is US economic hegemony at risk? Continue reading...

Forecasters may be anxious not to be caught out, as they were by the 2008 recession. Nonetheless, the signs look ominousThere is a tendency for institutions that missed the warning signs before the last financial crisis to over-cook their doomsayer’s warnings as they consider the potential for another one.The International Monetary Fund leads a group of gloomy forecasters that worry about the stability of the global economy amid rising debt levels and slowing GDP growth. How long, they ask, can the expansion seen since the last crash go on before another recession hits?Jacking up rates to calm growth is straight out of the textbook. The trouble with doing it now is that growth is slowing Continue reading...

Talks begin this week in Beijing to end the trade war – and even titans such as Apple are feeling its impactIt epitomises China’s position in the global economy that a seismic warning about its health last week came from a US company: Apple. The iPhone maker cut sales forecasts, citing the unforeseen “magnitude” of the economic slowdown in China – a vital growth market. At the same time the head of Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, warned his employees that “winter is coming” in the world’s second-largest economy.If China is indeed entering an economic winter, then the chill will spread around the globe. Forty years after communist China opened its doors to trade with the west in a dash for growth, the country’s mix of free-market policies and central planning faces one of its sternest tests. Continue reading...

Slowing growth and rising debt at home may affect Beijing’s ability to keep up its vast investments in the developing worldConcerns over Chinese growth could spell problems for Africa and other parts of the developing world. Beijing funded an overseas investment boom in the past few decades as it strove to become the world’s second largest economic superpower, while also buying vast amounts of the natural resources produced by emerging nations.The scale of the expansion forms part of China’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road” Initiative, a state-backed campaign to promote its influence around the world, while providing stimulus for its own slowing economy. The transcontinental development project launched by China’s president, Xi Jinping, in 2013 aims to improve infrastructure links between Asia, Europe and Africa, with the aim for China to reap the benefits from increasing levels of global trade.More than four fifths of the amount China spends on construction overseas goes to low- or middle-income economies Continue reading...

As US officials fly to Beijing for negotiations, the president says the Chinese ‘sort of have to’ make a deal on tariffsDonald Trump has said China’s weakening economic growth puts the United States in a strong position as negotiators from the world’s two largest economies prepare for trade talks on Monday.US officials are heading to Beijing this weekend for the first face-to-face talks since Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, agreed in December to a 90-day truce in the trade war as they sought to strike a deal.Related: Things to watch out for in 2019? Doom and plenty of gloom Larry ElliottRelated: China's Xi Jinping calls on Donald Trump for trade compromise Continue reading...

Services sector report shows slow demand as economists predict GDP growth of 0.1%Brexit anxiety dragged the UK economy almost to a standstill at the end of 2018, as a key gauge for the largest sector of the economy showed optimism among firms fell to the lowest levels since the financial crisis.According to the latest snapshot for the services sector compiled by IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply – which covers banks, restaurants and hotels – subdued growth conditions persisted in December, with concerns over the UK’s departure from the EU resulting in companies putting spending decisions on hold.Related: 'Brexit anxiety' holding back British services sector – business live Continue reading...

It’s easy for nonsense to become common sense, such as on the rail rises. Beware the ‘fairness error’ – equality helps everyoneOne of the most depressing things about politics in the UK is realising how easy it is for total nonsense to become common sense and received wisdom.Take this tweet from YouGov, following the recently announced rise in fares. “There will be calls for train fares to be frozen – the main beneficiaries will be those in wealthier households. 42% of those who made more than 50 train journeys last year are in households earning £40k+. Just 10% are in households on less than £20k”. Most of the poor, YouGov sagely intones, take the car, or bus, or walk. Therefore we should not lower the price because that means only rich people will benefit.Related: UK trains 'are packed to near double capacity'There will be calls for train fares to be frozen - the main beneficiaries will be those in wealthier households. 42% of those who made more than 50 train journeys last year are in households earning £40k+. Just 10% are in households on less than £20k https://t.co/FjIiaeD86d pic.twitter.com/mRznAzMnRWRelated: Why aren’t we outraged by child poverty in Britain and the US? | Mary O’Hara Continue reading...

Industry activity hits three-month low in December as uncertainty continues to riseThe UK construction sector ended 2018 on a weaker footing, hitting a three-month low in December amid fading demand for commercial projects and the growing risk of a no-deal Brexit.According to the Markit/Cips UK construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which is closely watched by the Bank of England and the Treasury as an early warning gauge for the UK economy, the building trade suffered a slowdown in activity in December. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation urges chancellor to tighten wealth taxation to boost public sectorPhilip Hammond could raise an additional £7bn a year for the Treasury by scrapping tax breaks for the richest in society and tightening up existing wealth taxes, research from one of Britain’s leading thinktanks shows.In a report prepared ahead of the chancellor’s government spending review, which is due later this year, the Resolution Foundation said that the additional funds could be raised to help finance the higher spending on public services needed to meet the demand of Britain’s ageing population.Related: Has the time come for a wealth tax in the UK? | Richard Partington Continue reading...

Trump claims ‘We’re the talk of the world’ as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdownAfter their worst year in close to a decade US stocks started the new year with a more than 1% decline on Wednesday before inching their way back into the black as Donald Trump blamed a “glitch” for last year’s losses.Markets wobbled between gains and losses all day on Wednesday as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown while the US government shutdown dragged on.Related: Markets dive as China manufacturing weakens in bleak start to 2019 Continue reading...

Growth concerns in focus after worst year for US equities since crash

UK buildup of finished goods rises in December at second-fastest rate since 1992Britain’s manufacturers ramped up their stockpiling efforts last month in preparation for a potential no-deal Brexit in less than 90 days’ time, with factory output rising to the highest level in six months.According to the latest snapshot survey from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, growing concerns about Brexit disruption from border hold-ups after 29 March led more businesses to build up stocks in December. Continue reading...

Australian dollar at risk of crashing below crucial 70 US cent mark as growth slows in SingaporeChina’s huge manufacturing sector has shrunk for the first time in 19 months, sending stock markets into a tailspin in an ominous start to 2019.The weak data released on Wednesday follows a slew of other disappointing figures from the world’s second largest economy and underline concerns that is heading for a tough 12 months.Related: Australian house prices falling at fastest rate in a decade, data showsRelated: 'All necessary means': Xi Jinping reserves right to use force against Taiwan Continue reading...

We are trying to be positive, but there’s little likely to put a smile on your face – except for a couple of things …Making predictions in the world of business and economics is a fool’s errand but that’s no reason not to have a crack at it. Here are some things to look out for in 2019, which could be a rollercoaster ride.What's the problem? Continue reading...

Be it smartwatches or smart speakers, it’s never been easier to make gadgets. But only the big players have the muscle to surviveImagine a shopper in an electronics store. Look, there’s a Fitbit display, with its “activity bands” which measure your steps and show details. Or, more pricey, its Versa smartwatch. Perhaps to save money, just buy the activity band? But wait … just over there are some generic activity bands, and they’re cheaper. Maybe save some money with those.Move along a bit, and there are GoPro cameras. But once again, there are some slightly cheaper models beside them; not well-known brands, but a camera is a camera, surely? Further along, there’s a Parrot drone. Next to those is a Sonos speaker, which works with Amazon’s Alexa. But beside it is a cheaper Amazon Echo, and a voice-controlled Google Home, and a Siri-enabled Apple HomePod. Why would you go with the smaller brand, faced with those offerings from tech’s behemoths? Or, at the previous displays, why not just buy the cheaper models?Related: The 20 best gadgets of 2018 Continue reading...

Politics, science, technology, TV, books … here’s what to expect in the year aheadA year is much more than just 365 days, or one orbit of the Earth around the sun. One year produces so many events and human stories that in 2018 alone, the Guardian published more than 73,000 news articles.Much of what happens is unpredictable. But with 2019 only hours old, there are a few things that can confidently be foretold. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the final trading day of 2018, as investors around the globe nurse heavy losses

Early data shows a drop in footfall of 3% on last year – the third consecutive annual fallInvestors will this week gain a clearer picture of retailers’ performances over the crucial Christmas period, as vultures circle the sector after HMV became the first victim of weak sales.Initial data from Springboard, a retail consultancy, showed that footfall in the week to Saturday fell by around 3% compared with last year, in line with declines seen throughout the Christmas trading period. In-store shopper numbers on Boxing Day fell by 3.1% year on year – the third consecutive annual decline in footfall. Continue reading...

Proper patrolling of workers’ rights is welcome. If the losers in the gig economy are to be helped, ministers must be tougherThe increased level of intervention by the government in the labour market since Theresa May became prime minister is both rational and humane. The UK economy is too reliant on low-wage, low-skilled jobs, many of which are also insecure. While unemployment remains low, and in-work poverty is a serious problem, there is no good reason for ministers not to apply pressure to employers. Figures published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this month suggest one in eight workers (4 million people) are now classified as poor. Working conditions and low pay are causing real suffering, with ambulances called to Amazon’s UK warehouses 600 times in three years. DPD delivery driver Don Lane died after missing medical appointments because he feared being fined for taking time off work.The review of the gig economy by thinktanker Matthew Taylor last year produced 53 recommendations, 51 of which ministers accept. Higher fines for employers who mistreat staff, and plans to inform workers of their rights on day one of any new job, are sensible. So is the repeal of a rule that allows employers to pay agency workers less than full-time staff. But a new right for zero-hours workers to request regular hours falls far short of union demands that they be entitled to them as a right. And details of the agency tasked with investigating and punishing abuses, and naming and shaming employers who fail to pay out after employment tribunals, remain vague. As with all regulation, the devil is in the detail of who, with which resources, has the power to do what. At the moment, workers in the UK bear a greater share of the burden of enforcement than in most European countries, with tribunals often the only recourse once an employer’s internal processes have been exhausted. It is almost two years since the economist David Metcalf was given the task of overseeing labour market enforcement, but his empire is small. It takes in a small team of employment agency inspectors, gangmaster licensing and the minimum wage (health and safety is separate). Given the scandalous scale of unpaid wages (estimated at £3.1bn in 2016, much of it holiday pay), and other failures highlighted by the Low Pay Commission and others, this regime is recognised as inadequate. But just as the government did not accept all of Mr Taylor’s recommendations, it has not accepted all those contained in Mr Metcalf’s first full annual report. Among measures rejected in December was a call for increased penalties for non-compliance. Continue reading...

Crashes seem to come round once a decade. Are we looking down the barrel of a new one?Recessions are always easy to spot in retrospect. With the benefit of hindsight, it is always easy to identify the warning signs of serious trouble ahead.Correctly forecasting recessions in advance demands a higher level of skill, as the Bank of England found in 2008 when it mistook the biggest slump since the second world war for a temporary growth slowdown.Related: Never mind the Brexit sideshow – recession is the real worry | Larry Elliot Continue reading...

Presidents express willingness to stick to G20 agreement in phone call, says news agencyChina’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for Donald Trump to reach a compromise on trade, as discussions continue in an attempt to avert the imposition of heavy tariffs on goods.Xinhua, a Chinese state-controlled news organisation, reported on Sunday that Xi told Trump in a telephone call that he had “hopes that both teams can meet each other halfway and reach an agreement beneficial to both countries and the world as early as possible”.Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China. Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute. Big progress being made! Continue reading...

Years ending in ‘9’ always seem to bring upheaval … and it looks like we are in for a hot one in 2019Call it coincidence if you like but years that end in a “9” have a habit of being eventful. More particularly, they tend to be years of upheaval. There’s 1789, of course, the year of the French Revolution. The Peterloo massacre, which eventually led to the launch of the Guardian, took place in 1819 and a century later there were fears that Bolshevism would spread from Russia westwards.The year 1939 requires no further explanation while 1979 encompassed the Iranian Revolution and the arrival of Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. A decade after that, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall heralded the collapse of communism. In 2009, central banks had to pull out all the stops to prevent the deepest recession since the second world war turning into a second Great Depression. The slump against which all others are measured began with the Wall Street crash of October 1929.Related: Bread-and-butter local issues threaten to derail the global economy Continue reading...

In the arts, politics, science, sport, technology and business, we preview the events that will shape our world in the next 12 monthsLovers of Shakespeare are invited to witness “a marriage of true minds” in early February when Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench play Mr and Mrs Shakespeare on the big screen in Branagh’s All Is True. The screenplay, written by Ben Elton, follows the playwright’s return to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613 after the Globe theatre burns down. Continue reading...

The state of the UK balance of payments recalls the crisis of 1964-67 – but the threat of a no-deal Brexit makes it far worseOne of the great economist John Maynard Keynes’s most memorable statements was: “In the long run we are all dead.”Alas, Keynes himself did not have an especially long run. Those wearing negotiations he undertook with the Americans and others on the postwar international economic settlement took their toll, as vividly described in Robert Skidelsky’s masterly biography. He most certainly battled for his country, as well as for a less depression-prone or beggar-my-neighbour world economy than was experienced in the 1920s and 1930s. Continue reading...

A no-deal Brexit is only one of many potential threats sending traders fleeing to safe havensThe recent gyrations in the FTSE 100 and the tumbling price of oil may have captured public attention, but in the last four months the FTSE All-Share index has lost 12% of its value and the gold price has jumped 10%. If any two figures really show how nervous traders have become about the new year, it is these.The safe haven that gold offers has pushed its price to a 15-month high of £1,010. The riskier FTSE All-Share, which covers all London-listed companies, has tumbled almost 600 points to 3596. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s social affairs correspondent spent two eye-opening weeks in the UK with UN rapporteur Philip AlstonIt was past midnight and, as another deadline loomed, the news editor of the Sunday paper I used to work for could no longer mask his frustration at how badly I was fouling up a story. Reporting was simple, he said: pick up the phone, ask a question and write down the answer.Amid the fatigue of another late shift, it felt sarcastic. But in the following years the simplicity of what he said stayed with me. It was essentially an instruction to listen, the most important thing reporters do. Persuading people to start talking can be hard. Finding the reason to publish what they say – why these people? Does it matter? Why should the readers care? – is not always easy either. But listening is the key, especially when covering social affairs, in which the patterns of people’s lives often emerge slowly.Double-checking is the stuff of good reporting too. The more people we listen to, the clearer the picture becomes Continue reading...