A handful of companies now wields massive global power. Outside the EU, we will be their preyWe live in a world of corporate goliaths and the trend to gigantism is accelerating. The new era of hi-tech data capitalism has an embedded proclivity to monopoly. The bigger the network, whether Facebook or Google, the more valuable it is to be connected. Big is good in the digital universe, while even bigger is better.Meanwhile, analogue capitalism, confronted by the challenge of the new, is reacting by consolidating and merging into ever larger entities. Unless they do, comes the reply to any challenge from national competition authorities, they won’t have the heft and scale to meet the new competition. Increasingly, we are surrounded by the most awesome concentration of corporate power in the history of capitalism. In every industry, reported the Obama administration last year, the market power of the biggest companies has been growing and mark-ups and profit margins with them. America’s era of the robber barons in the late 19th century had nothing on this. Continue reading...

Hard Brexit is still a clear prospect: and while leftwing and centrist Leavers may see new futures, the right has always envisaged a return to 70s BritainA hard Brexit is still on the cards despite the cheers of business leaders for Theresa May’s fudged deal on the Irish border, concessions on EU citizens’ rights and the rise in the exit fee from £20bn to nearer £50bn.It’s easy to see how phrases like “regulatory alignment”, when coupled with a two-year transition period, could be welcomed by corporations as offering the prospect of a soft Brexit. Another reason would be the flailing of Nigel Farage and his fellow Brexiter Gisela Stuart as they accuse May of signing just about as bad a deal as they could imagine. Continue reading...

On the face of it, the US job market appears in rude health, with unemployment at a 17-year-low. But look beyond the headlines, and it’s not all milk and honeyUnemployment in the US is now at a 17-year low, having grown for 86 months in a row since the Great Recession. Hiring did grind to a halt in September after hurricanes Harvey and Irma tore through Florida and Texas, disrupting some of the country’s most economically important areas.But on Friday, the economy appeared to have shaken off the slump that followed in their wake, adding 228,000 new jobs in November according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Beneath the surface, however, there are still some deep scars and structural problems remaining in the labor market. Continue reading...

Auto exports and pharma output soar, but mining, energy and construction drag down total industrial production, says ONSBritain’s car factories are helping drive the country’s manufacturing production to its longest period of growth in more than 20 years, according to government figures.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said cars made for export and a bumper month for pharmaceutical firms helped output grow for the sixth month in a row in October – the longest unbroken period of manufacturing growth since 1994. Continue reading...

Royal Bank of Scotland’s chairman says central bankers should hang an ‘abandon hope’ warning over bitcoin

Gisela Stuart of Change Britain says move aimed at solving Irish border issue in Brexit talks would be ‘completely unacceptable’A pressure group linked to the former Vote Leave campaign has warned Theresa May that signing up to regulatory alignment with the EU to solve the Irish border problem will not allow Britain to “take back control” from Brussels.Change Britain, which was launched last year with the backing of the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and the environment secretary, Michael Gove, made clear its belief that such a move would fail to respect the mandate of the referendum result. Continue reading...

US cities are selling their souls to be the company’s second HQ site. It’s part of the techno-capitalist takeover of cities, ultimately funded by ordinary citizensAmazon, the online retail giant, is in the midst of running its own hunger games. The contestants are 238 cities and regions across North America. The prize is being chosen as the site for Amazon’s second headquarters (HQ2), which promises to employ upwards of 50,000 people. These cities are locked in a fierce battle to outbid each other and they’ll do anything, give anything, to be chosen.In an era of brutal austerity, cities are hollowed out and hoping for a savior. Since the tech sector is flush with cash, by showing up and saying the magic words – growth, jobs, investment, innovation – city leaders bend to their will. Amazon’s HQ2 competition is the latest egregious example of a techno-capitalist regime that’s bewitching cities around the world.Related: Bids are in for Amazon's HQ2. Now the contest begins – but will it be worth it?Related: Amazon wants goodies and tax breaks to move its HQ to your city. Say no thanks | Noam Maggor Continue reading...

The chancellor appears in front of the Treasury select committee to answer questions on the November budget and says 'high levels of engagement in the workforce, for example of disabled people' may be one of the factors keeping down UK productivity levels

There will be a rightwing backlash against Labour’s strategy for reviving the economy, but it is clearly the right approachHere is a story about how crude dogma and a factually baseless political attack line are wrecking the country’s future. Britain desperately needs investment, and with interest rates this low it would be economic madness not to borrow to fund it.Even a Conservative cabinet minister such as Sajid Javid has broken ranks to demand £50bn of borrowing to solve the housing crisisRelated: George Osborne wants money to fight the poverty he caused? He has no shame | Polly Toynbee Continue reading...

Health check of financial system says reforms have not gone far enough and notes similarities to US before 2008 crisisFears that China risks being the cause of a fresh global financial crisis have been highlighted by the International Monetary Fund in a hard-hitting warning about the growing debt-dependency of the world’s second biggest economy.The IMF’s health check of China’s financial system found that credit was high by international levels, that personal debt had increased in the past five years, and that the pressure to maintain the country’s rapid growth had bred an unwillingness to let struggling firms fail.Related: IMF warns China over 'dangerous' growth in debtRelated: Adani coalmine project: China Construction Bank won't grant loan, PR firm says Continue reading...

Disability charity Scope and others call for chancellor to withdraw his comments implying disabled people are to blame for sluggish economyDisability charity Scope called on Philip Hammond to withdraw his “totally unacceptable and derogatory comments” after he said Britain’s sluggish productivity could partly be blamed on more disabled people in the workforce .In Wednesday’s treasury select committee, the chancellor was asked about low economic productivity levels, which he had reported during the autumn Budget last month.Related: 'No unemployed' gaffe adds to budget pressure on Philip HammondPretty shocked actually https://t.co/Z2fUrlwjE9Shocking that Philip Hammond is trying to blame disabled people for low productivity! Disabled people contribute enormously and disability employment gap has barely changed since productivity started to stall. Disgusting scapegoating! https://t.co/1BpOF4i0nf Continue reading...

A debt-based economy cannot survive if it does not keep growing, writes David Ashton. While Maurice Vassie says that the UK should follow the Swedish model and learn to repair our possessions instead of discarding themCaroline Lucas (Letters, 2 December), is right about the need to have a more sustainable and people-friendly measure of our wellbeing. However, it is vital to understand why there is the fixation on GDP and economic growth in the first place. Ninety-seven per cent of all money circulating is borrowed and a debt-based economy cannot survive if it does not keep growing in order to service the interest on the debt. The economists at Positive Money among others have been working hard to raise awareness of how our money is created, the consequences of its creation by private banks and what the alternatives are. Coming from a similar perspective, the economist Joseph Huber has just written a new book entitled Sovereign Money: beyond reserve banking, which explains the workings of the current system, gives insights in the roots of the financial crisis and brings new solutions on how to fix a broken financial system.The pursuit of economic growth at all costs is driving planetary destruction and creating untold misery for huge numbers of people. However, policies to try to fix climate change, pollution, austerity, poverty and a host of other problems, which do not address the fundamental issue of the debt-based economy and its need for economic growth, are doomed to fail.

Worries over Brexit, US tax reforms and the debt ceiling are all weighing on shares today

The secretary of state’s blustering over the impact assessments reveals one thing: the whole of the government’s Brexit strategy is built on lies and obfuscationIt called to mind Bill Clinton’s sublimely evasive remark when questioned about the veracity of statements he had made about the nature of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” said the president. David Davis, when asked by a House of Commons committee to explain why he had failed to provide anything adequately resembling the Brexit impact assessments that had been demanded by parliament fell back on an extraordinarily devious defence. There are no “impact assessments” and never had been.The secretary of state did not deploy air quotes in his testimony but the implied inverted commas carried the full weight of his argument. It was, in essence, that MPs had voted to insist on the provision of something that didn’t exist and so there was no real need to question whether or not he had complied.Related: MPs feared a David Davis cover-up. Worse, he had nothing to hideRelated: Sector-by-sector Brexit impact forecasts do not exist, says David Davis Continue reading...

The select committee worried that the government wanted to conceal alarming Brexit plans. But there were no plans at allWith its Brexit strategy hurtling off the rails, this could have been a timely moment for the government to reassure parliament about the existence of a well thought-out plan B.Instead MPs were invited to take a leap of faith on Wednesday when the Brexit select committee asked David Davis to explain what had been done to assess the impact on British business of abruptly leaving the EU.Related: Theresa May finally gets DUP's Arlene Foster on the phoneRelated: David Davis says government has not assessed impact of Brexit for different sections of economy - Politics live Continue reading...

Simon’s story is a tale of 21st-century Britain. He worked, he cared for his mother, he played by the rules. But when he fell, there was no safety netSimon’s death certificate tidies away his life in a few terse official phrases. Date of death: 12 November 2017. Causes: “a) Fatty liver” and “b) Alcohol misuse”. No bureaucratic curiosity about how a 51-year-old’s life came to be cut so short.Which leaves his only brother, Dave, dealing with the grief and asking all the whys. Why did Simon die so young? Why did no one else try to help?Yet there are so many people like Simon, all surplus to requirements of this shrunken economyRelated: The Guardian view on the austerity budgets: end the social and economic failure | Editorial Continue reading...

Tools for Self Reliance | Ernest Marples | UK factory orders | Babies beneath the hedges | Labour poll leadI was very interested to read (Letters, 25 November) of the project started by Irene Owens to send sewing machines to Zimbabwe. I wonder if she knows about the charity Tools for Self Reliance? TFSR has groups of volunteers in many parts of the UK. They collect and repair hand tools, which are shipped to a number of African countries. They are particularly keen to accept donations of manual sewing machines. A visit to their website, www.tfsr.org, will enable anyone wishing to donate sewing machines to contact the charity to find their nearest collection point. Hopefully in this way Irene Owen’s project can continue to help many more African families to start a small business sufficient to feed and educate their children.

British workers receive just 29% of their previous earnings, although private pensions bring figure up to near averageBritain’s workers can look forward to the worst state pension of any major country, according to a report by the developed world’s leading economic thinktank.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study calculated that a typical British worker will at retirement receive a state pension and other benefits worth around 29% of what they had previously been earning. That compares with an average of 63% in other OECD countries, and more than 80% in Italy and the Netherlands. Continue reading...

The slowdown in Britain’s auto industry has continued, as rising inflation and anxiety over diesel hits sales

UK’s net worth rose by £803bn over the course of last year to stand at £9.8tn at the end of 2016, says ONSBritain’s landowners have emerged as the biggest winners from the country’s largest yearly increase in national wealth on record, sitting on assets accounting for more than half of the net worth of nearly £10tn.The UK’s wealth rose by £803bn over the course of last year to stand at £9.8tn at the end of 2016, driven by a sharp increase in the value of land, contributing to the biggest annual rise since records began in 1995, according to the Office for National Statistics.Related: Tony Blair backs Labour’s ‘land value tax’ to tackle housing crisis Continue reading...

The OECD wants all countries to think about how policies will impact on women. Let’s take our cue from Sweden, where even snow-clearing considers genderWhen people think of gender equality, they probably don’t immediately think of snow. But the small Swedish city of Karlskoga did just that, when, five years ago, the city reviewed the way it cleared its streets.Related: UK gender inequality as bad as 10 years ago, EU league table showsSince 2010, the UK government’s austerity policies, including welfare cuts, have impacted massively on women Continue reading...

Trade deals were hammered out in secret by multinationals at the expense of workers and citizens. Benefits must be shared if the global economy is to workFifteen years ago, I published Globalisation and Its Discontents, a book that sought to explain why there was so much dissatisfaction with globalisation within the developing countries. Quite simply, many believed that the system was rigged against them, and global trade agreements were singled out for being particularly unfair.Now discontent with globalisation has fuelled a wave of populism in the US and other advanced economies, led by politicians who claim that the system is unfair to their countries. In the US, President Donald Trump insists that America’s trade negotiators were snookered by those from Mexico and China.

Companies such as hotels and restaurants, IT and financial firms blamed weak pound since the Brexit vote for forcing up pricesConsumers face the sharpest increase in prices charged by services firms in almost a decade, according to a survey, as a range of businesses from hotels to IT companies seek to protect profits against rising costs since the EU referendum.According to a survey from the data firm IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips), companies in the services industries – such as hotels and restaurants, IT, financial services, transport and communications – blamed the weak pound since the Brexit vote for forcing them to drive up prices in November at the fastest pace since February 2008. That was the the second-fastest rise seen since the survey began in 1996.The purchasing managers' indices, or PMIs, track services sector companies, manufacturers and building firms around the world. Continue reading...

The solution would have boosted the North’s economy by allowing it to remain economically part of the EU. The DUP has sacrificed its voters’ interestsSo to the legions of experts required to make any sense of Northern Ireland we may now need to add lexicographers or semioticians. Where does the line, the border as it were, blur between regulatory “non-divergence” and “convergence” and “alignment”?The EU-UK draft agreement that was on the table on Monday, suggests that, in all but name, Northern Ireland would have remained a part of the EU. Achieving the UK government’s agreement on this was a truly momentous achievement for Irish prime minister Leo Varadker, derided by the Brexiter ultras as being naive and out of his depth. This has been an international-relations baptism of fire, it is true, but he has come through unscathed. That the British government withdrew its own proposal was, to borrow a phrase once used by the former taoiseach Charles Haughey, “grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre, and unprecedented”. It is now unclear that it will be back on the table, which is a pity as it had the great merit of ambiguity. But the proposal also throws up as many questions as it answers – nothing new in the context of either Northern Ireland or the EU’s dealings with crises.Related: Theresa May seeks to rescue Brexit deal as Dublin says it won't back down - Politics liveCounties and customsRelated: Theresa May must call the DUP’s bluff – this EU deal has to happen | Simon Jenkins Continue reading...

The prehistoric shift towards cultivation began our preoccupation with hierarchy and growth – and even changed how we perceive the passage of timeMost people regard hierarchy in human societies as inevitable, a natural part of who we are. Yet this belief contradicts much of the 200,000-year history of Homo sapiens.In fact, our ancestors have for the most part been “fiercely egalitarian”, intolerant of any form of inequality. While hunter-gatherers accepted that people had different skills, abilities and attributes, they aggressively rejected efforts to institutionalise them into any form of hierarchy.Related: Why 'Bushman banter' was crucial to hunter-gatherers' evolutionary successFarming-based societies created economies of hope and aspiration, in which we focus almost unerringly on the futureRelated: The Inequality Project: the Guardian's in-depth look at our unequal world Continue reading...

All the day’s economic and financial news, as news that the US Senate has passed a crucial tax reform bill lifts shares and the US dollar

Readers reflect on the resignation of Alan Milburn from the Social Mobility CommissionThe resignation of Alan Milburn and the other members of the Social Mobility Commission on the grounds that the government’s “rhetoric of healing social divisions [is not] matched with the reality” suggests naivety (Never mind social mobility. Poverty is an insult to us all, 4 December). We could fill a library with the accumulated evidence of the spectrum of inequalities published since 1960. The critical question is why these have only resulted in, at most, incremental rather than substantive changes. The depressing narrative is that successive governments have introduced a wide range of social and economic policies, many reinforcing the belief that individuals are responsible for their own destiny. The “success” of these policies is reflected in electoral support for inequality, including how the most vulnerable often blame themselves for failing to manage. This is an opportunity for Labour not only to reinforce its commitment to abolish poverty, as Zoe Williams suggests, but also to address inequality in all its manifestations and offer the electorate a comprehensive programme to achieve this.

World’s second-biggest mining company bows to behind-the-scenes lobbying and ditches Sir Mick Davis as its choice for chairmanCongratulations, Simon Thompson, current non-executive director of Rio Tinto, you are deemed sufficiently safe to step up to the chairmanship. The world’s second biggest mining company didn’t describe the appointment in this way, of course – but nor did it refer to the extraordinary behind-the-scenes lobbying that killed the hopes of the board’s original preferred candidate, Sir Mick Davis.It was already known that the process had been hijacked by big shareholders, who had written to Rio to say they weren’t keen on Davis, the former boss of Xstrata and the current chairman of the Conservative party. But the blistering tone of the now-leaked letter is worth noting. It is hard to recall a similar instance of a board of a large FTSE 100 company being read the riot act over the appointment of a chairman. Continue reading...

Our economic system didn’t intend to suppress the social mobility of working-class kids, but it has. Now their prospects are so bleak that Labour’s promises to the postwar working class seem practically BolshevikIf I wanted to save capitalism, I would prioritise social mobility. Not Jude the Obscure-style mobility, where it happens over generations, but the kind we achieved in the postwar era. The kind that sent orphan, gang member and naval rating Bernard Schwartz to acting school to become Tony Curtis. The kind that makes things better in your lifetime and, in fact, in your first decade as an adult.Related: I benefited from social mobility – and I still feel like a permanent outsider | Rebecca Nicholson Continue reading...

Pushing processed foods and sedentary lifestyles on the world is jeopardising global health gainsAs Donald Trump’s administration throws sharp elbows in trade negotiations and systematically rescinds regulations introduced by Barack Obama, one casualty is likely to be efforts to fight the global obesity epidemic. Left unchecked, rapidly rising obesity rates could slow or even reverse the dramatic gains in health and life expectancy that much of the world has enjoyed over the past few decades. And by forcing its food culture on countries like Mexico and Canada, the United States is making the problem worse.One of the paradoxes of modern global capitalism is that whereas more than 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat, an estimated 700 million people (including 100 million children) are obese. Of course, the two are not necessarily directly related. A considerable proportion of world hunger occurs in countries suffering from domestic strife or severe government dysfunction.Related: More than half of American children set to be obese by age 35, study finds Continue reading...

A push on pensioners’ issues won’t put Labour into power, some readers say, though others disagree. Electoral reform? A rational economic policy? A new shadow chancellor? Morgan Stanley?Owen Jones suggests that in order to win the next election Labour has to appeal to pensioners (Why isn’t Labour surging?, 30 November). He reminds us of the government’s “chaotic Brexit process” yet fails to consider that Labour’s own Brexit ambiguities have created a serious problem.In the big cities Labour failed to mention Brexit and received massive majorities; in the small towns where Labour emphasised its pro-Brexit credentials their vote barely increased. The vast majority of Labour voters do not want Brexit, yet Labour appears to take them for granted. Continue reading...

Bank for International Settlements’ quarterly health check warns global economy resembles era just before financial crashInvestors are ignoring warning signs that financial markets could be overheating and consumer debts are rising to unsustainable levels, the global body for central banks has warned in its quarterly financial health check.The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the situation in the global economy was similar to the pre-2008 crash era when investors, seeking high returns, borrowed heavily to invest in risky assets, despite moves by central banks to tighten access to credit.When economists talk about financial markets overheating, they are typically saying asset prices - given to shares, bonds or commodities - are rising too fast or have reached levels that don't justify the usability or profit-making capacity of the companies or goods that they represent. Overheating can occur when investors are overly confident that prices can rise further. But should that confidence evaporate, over-inflated asset prices will have further to fall than most.Related: Bitcoin: UK and EU plan crackdown amid crime and tax evasion fearsRelated: Philip Hammond could be putting the UK on course for another recession Continue reading...

The Tories say the income gap is not growing and cite data that ignores key contributors to the wealth of the top 1% such as capital gains and inheritanceForget all that guff about a growing gap between rich and poor, says Philip Hammond. Pay no heed to Jeremy Corbyn when he talks of how he will deliver for the many not the few, Theresa May says. The chancellor and the prime minister might not always see eye to eye, but on this at least they are in unison: income inequality is at its lowest since the mid-1980s.May regularly makes this point when she is fending off attacks on inequality from Corbyn at prime minister’s questions. Buried away in the depths of the budget speech, Hammond said exactly the same. It’s not hard to see why. The Conservatives are uncomfortable with the idea that they are the party of the 1%, so evidence to the contrary is mighty useful.Related: Living in cars, working for Amazon: meet America's new nomads | Jessica BruderRelated: If you tax the rich, they won't leave: US data contradicts millionaires' threats Continue reading...

Those who seek a hard exit from the EU do so in defiance of old allies in Europe and beyond, and of long-held principles of UK foreign policyPhilip Hammond’s recent budget – are you old enough to remember it? – was completely overshadowed by the gloomy analysis of our economy, present and future, presented by the Office for Budget Responsibility on the same day.Politically, the chancellor was constrained by the knowledge that the minority of deranged Brexiters who seem to be running this government were out for his blood. However, he managed, with limited room for manoeuvre, to ward off the hyenas for the time being. Why, the prime minister – who had earlier contemplated sacking him – even turned up for the Treasury’s post-budget drinks. Continue reading...

The former deputy PM and the Nobel prize winner discuss the EU, business and Trump

From the tulip craze to the South Sea and dotcom bubbles, the past teaches us to beware too strong a dose of irrational exuberanceBitcoin is drawing comparisons with past economic bubbles, owing to its meteoric rise this year. Here are some perhaps poignant history lessons:Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest, "cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it's a bad investment is the $97bn question (literally, since that's the current value of all bitcoins in existence). Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most legitimate uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the idea of a currency with no inflation and no central bank, to drug dealers who like the fact that it's hard (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person.Related: Bitcoin: is it a bubble waiting to burst or a good investment? Continue reading...

Disciples of the cryptocurrency plan to hold on for dear life but traditional finance is getting twitchyBitcoin is the fastest-growing asset in the world this year, but the virtual currency does not appear to have many users in London’s tech district. It has been more than a month since bitcoin was used to buy a flat white or craft beer sold at the Old Shoreditch Station, according to the hospitality manager at the east London bar.Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest, "cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it's a bad investment is the $97bn question (literally, since that's the current value of all bitcoins in existence). Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most legitimate uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the idea of a currency with no inflation and no central bank, to drug dealers who like the fact that it's hard (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person.Related: Everything you wanted to know about bitcoin but were afraid to askRelated: Bitcoin bubble? The warnings from history Continue reading...

Exclusive: EU could impose punitive tariffs on key British exports such as beef if UK seeks to lower regulatory standardsThe EU is exploring the inclusion of a “punishment clause” in any future trade deal with the UK to allow Brussels to slap tariffs on key British exports to the bloc if the UK government seeks to gain a commercial advantage by lowering regulatory standards.In a move that would torpedo the post-Brexit plans of the British cabinet’s key Brexiters, any significant attempts by Whitehall to lower regulatory costs to British businesses in one part of the economy could be met by tariffs from Brussels on another.Related: Ireland will have final say on progress of Brexit talks, says EUWhat is the EU withdrawal bill? Continue reading...

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas argues that we need a new measure of success and wellbeing, while Ian McCalman says the productivity debate focuses too much on manufacturingLarry Elliott (Opinion, 30 November) is absolutely right to question a fixation on growth at all costs. We know that infinite economic growth simply isn’t compatible with a planet of finite resources, and we also know that the treatment of environmental concerns as “externalities” in pursuit of never-ending GDP increases is incredibly damaging. So if we know that growth is environmentally damaging, and not a guarantee of increased wellbeing, how do we shift our focus towards a new measure of a good society?We need a new set of indicators that better reflect genuine wellbeing. For a start I would suggest we should aim to share out paid work more widely and evenly, and increase the amount of positive leisure time people have, giving them more choice about time with their communities, friends and family. The Green party’s calls for a shorter working week are often attacked as being anti-growth, but that misses the point of policymaking that should surely be to serve people rather than worship at the altar of GDP. Continue reading...

Survey reveals manufacturing growth rebounding with surge in orders across the sector in November despite Brexit concerns

Against the £435bn Britain already owes itself as a result of printing money, a sum this size shouldn’t be an issue – but the government has made it oneThe UK government’s crack negotiating team, after much bluster, has finally agreed to pay our EU “divorce bill”. It was never in doubt, really. The hard talk has always failed to comprehend that you can’t “just walk away” from a contract you’ve already signed.Sums such as £50bn sound huge, but it’s always a good idea to look at big-sounding numbers in context. For a whole economy to spend as a one-off capital investment in order to preserve access to some key international institutions, it isn’t such a terrible deal. Over 10 years, that’s just 0.25% of GDP per year, which is significantly less than the potential impact a badly negotiated Brexit deal would have on the economy.What is the EU withdrawal bill?Related: Brexit divorce bill: how much is it and what is it for?Related: Quantitative easing is a costly habit we should have kicked long ago | Larry Elliott Continue reading...

Opec and non-Opec energy ministers extend their output curbs to the end of 2018, after they met in Vienna today

The most socially destructive chancellor of modern times can apparently see the damage he’s done. But unlike Scrooge, there’s no hint of remorseHere’s a shocking fact. About 70,000 children go to school hungry in a city dripping with the world’s mostly unearned, undeserved, under-taxed, obscene wealth. One in four parents in London worry about being able to feed their children.Almost a fifth of families in the capital choose between heating their homes or feeding their children, according to the latest research by YouGov, with one in seven families relying on charities and food banks. Even if their children aren’t going hungry, a third of parents feel they can’t afford the healthier food they know they should have. Food charity the Felix Project says, “Hungry children are held back in their development – they don’t do as well at school as their well-fed peers, and are more likely to get into trouble.”The cuts now raining down yet harder on the poorest were designed by him, and left in place by Theresa MayRelated: Hundreds of rough sleepers in Manchester to be offered homes Continue reading...

We have to challenge the tyranny of GDP – the metric that lists speculation, pollution and gambling as being good for the economyThere had never been anything quite like the thick “pea-souper” fog that blanketed London 65 years ago. The wind dropped and the air grew damp. For five days, smoke from coal fires and power stations was trapped, making it hard to breathe. For the frail and elderly what became known as the Great Smog was deadly. Initial estimates put the death toll at 4,000.The coal burned in the capital in 1952 turned the city into a deathtrap, but it was good for growth. It was cold and damp as well as foggy, and the more fuel that was bought, the better it was for the economy.Related: Is the reign of GDP as the only measure of wealth coming to an end? | Jane Gleeson-WhiteSimon Kuznets, who first came up with the idea of GDP, had a point when he said it should exclude harmful thingsRelated: The economy is failing. We need to think radically about how to fix it | Liam Byrne Continue reading...

Helen Channer Aupperlee thanks Robert Peston for what he said in his Guardian interview. And Linda Fairbrother’s husband knows what to say when they’re accused of being ‘champagne socialists’Thank you, Robert Peston, for saying the sanest thing I’ve yet to hear about how we might get ourselves out of this mess: “Maybe we [the middle class] should make some sacrifices and be a bit poorer” (Interview: ‘I’m not saying Britain is finished, but our current problems are not a blip’, 25 November).The whole interview had me making connections with other Guardian writers. Sure, we can keep living the way we do, consuming what we want, as long as we’re somewhat altruistic (Giles Fraser: It’s called effective altruism – but is it really the best way to do good?, 24 November), but we’d not be making any significant changes to the system that keeps so many humans and so much of our environment enslaved to our desires (George Monbiot: Our annual festival of relentless consumption is trashing the planet, 22 November). Continue reading...

Decline will soothe Bank of England fears about reckless lending while household incomes are being squeezedThe UK’s consumer debt boom has eased back after growth in lending on credit cards and loans fell to an 18-month low.The Bank of England said unsecured consumer credit grew by 9.6% year on year in October, down from 9.8% in September, soothing fears that banks were lending recklessly at a time when household incomes have come under pressure from stagnant pay growth and high inflation.

It has been the greatest money-making opportunity of our lifetime. So when will the biggest bubble in human history burst?Few, beyond the most outlandish prognosticators, would have ever thought such a thing possible, even just a few months ago. But the internet cash system bitcoin has burst the psychological $10,000 barrier. As I write this, it is closing down on $11,000.At the beginning of the decade the price of a bitcoin was barely a penny. It has been the greatest money-making opportunity any of us will see in our lifetime. A $100 bet in July 2010 is now $16m. If you were one of the libertarian geeks who got in close to the start back in 2009 and managed to hold on, you have made millions of times your money. It is up 1,000% this year alone. Bitcoin has created fortunes beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.Related: Bitcoin nears $10,000 mark as hedge funds plough inBitcoin is the first, and the biggest, "cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it's a bad investment is the $97bn question (literally, since that's the current value of all bitcoins in existence). Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most legitimate uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the idea of a currency with no inflation and no central bank, to drug dealers who like the fact that it's hard (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person.Related: The trouble with big data is the huge energy bill | John Naughton Continue reading...

We provide a lifeline for black and minority ethnic women fleeing domestic abuse, but if government funding changes go through, I don’t know how long we’ll last

The UK faces the longest period of falling living standards since the 1950s – and that grim forecast is based on Brexit going wellThat was the budget that wasn’t. There was a little fiddling at the edges; the cut in stamp duty designed to help first-time buyers amounted to nothing as it will cause house prices to rise and wipe out any benefit. In the end, it will help only existing homeowners. Same old, same old, in terms of austerity, with more cuts still to come for years ahead.Not unrelated to that was the downgrade in the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast of productivity growth and consequently economic growth. Continue reading...

Thinktank downgrades growth forecast for 2017, saying Brexit uncertainty will mean Britain missing global upswing next yearRising household debt and flatlining wages are becoming a major financial stability risk as Britain slows as a consequence of Brexit, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has said.The warning from the Paris-based thinktank on Tuesday came as it argued Brexit uncertainty will result in Britain missing an upswing in global growth next year. The OECD forecasts UK growth will be the slowest among G7 nations next year, down from 1.5% this year to 1.2% in 2018 and 1.1% in 2019, when only Japan will grow at a slower rate.Productivity is an economic measure of the efficiency of a workforce. It typically measures the level of output per hour of work, or per worker. Continue reading...