Economics minister Akira Amari urges Japanese firms to use their record cash holdings to raise wages and increase capital spendingJapan’s recovery is being held back by a shortage of skilled labour, a leading minister has claimed, after the world’s third-largest economy entered its fourth technical recession in five years.Related: Japan 's 'quintuple dip' recession delivers a fresh blow to Abenomics Continue reading...

Consumer prices index (CPI) has been dragged down by tumbling global commodity prices and the effects of a strong poundThe UK’s inflation rate is expected to have remained in negative territory when official figures are released on Tuesday, leaving the Bank of England in little hurry to start raising interest rates.Economists expect data for October to show the inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) held at -0.1%, according to the consensus in a Reuters poll. Inflation has been at or close to zero for most of this year and first dipped into negative territory in April when prices fell for the first time in more than 50 years. Continue reading...

The investor-state dispute settlement puts companies’ rights ahead of human rights. Its effects are devastating for developing nations – we must abolish itWhen the architects of the international order that took shape after the second world war created the United Nations, they gave the organisation a lofty goal: “Save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Through the UN charter – akin to a world constitution – solemnly adopted in 1945 in San Francisco, they also said they were “determined to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained”.Since then and in line with that vow, the UN has put on the world stage not only the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also legally binding instruments, including 10 core human rights conventions and countless declarations and resolutions.Related: The lies behind this transatlantic trade deal | George MonbiotThe ISDS cannot be reformed. It must be abolished Continue reading...

Global security concerns saw the euro hit a six-month low and stocks were sold off around the region as Japan entered a ‘quintuple dip’ recessionStock markets in Asia Pacific have fallen sharply in the wake of the Paris terror attacks and downbeat economic data.Leading the losers was the Nikkei index in Japan which tumbled nearly 1.3% as official figures showed that the country’s economy had entered recession for the fifth time in seven years.Related: Japan 's 'quintuple dip' recession delivers a fresh blow to Abenomics Continue reading...

The economy shrank for the second quarter in a row for the fifth time in seven years, figures showed, increasing the pressure on Shinzo AbeJapan has slid back into recession for the fifth time in seven years amid uncertainty about the state of the global economy, putting policymakers under growing pressure to deploy new stimulus measures to support a fragile recovery.Related: Abenomics 2.0 – PM updates plan to refresh Japanese economy Continue reading...

Corporate short-term thinking is holding back investment - governments need to step in nowTrillions of dollars, pounds, euros and yen are stuck in the global financial system with seemingly nowhere to go. Continue reading...

The sight of the PM complaining about cuts is remarkable. But it underlines how misguided the Tories’ appraisal is of the real threats to the economyYou could not make it up. Our ultra-smooth prime minister has complained to the Conservative leader of Oxfordshire county council about the cuts to local authority services being made in David Cameron’s constituency, which is itself in Oxfordshire. We owe this great story to the Oxford Mail, to which organ a certain exchange of letters, or possibly emails, was leaked.Welcome to the real world, Dave! When a prime minister finally wakes up to the consequences of the ideologically driven austerity policies of his own chancellor, then perhaps he should be tempted to follow the example of his hero, Harold Macmillan, and sack him. Continue reading...

The female-led Left Bloc party is about to form a government, but now faces shockingly sexist attacksA few days after Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) won 10% of the vote in the Portuguese general elections last month, Joana Mortágua strode through the marble halls of the Portuguese parliament.Mortágua doesn’t resemble most deputies: she doesn’t wears suits, preferring a T-shirt and sneakers. She’s athletic and gathers her hair into a ponytail. Even after a historic result, she looked relaxed and amused, joking with colleagues that she had too many meetings to go to. Fast-forward a few weeks and her diary is fuller; Mortágua has become one of the most powerful politicians in the country. Continue reading...

As exporters feel the pinch, one analyst is suggesting that a surreptitious retreat from globalisation may be provoking the declineFor one Chinese company that depends on global trade, fears over the worldwide economy have come to pass already. “The global economy is pretty bleak at the moment,” says Luo Dong, the owner of Doyoung, a Beijing-based exporter of frozen seafood and fruit. “This is having a big effect on us. Our clients’ sales are a lot slower than they used to be, and as purchasing power overseas drops, our exports are taking a hit.”Luo’s observations were echoed on a wider stage last week, when the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development voiced the fear gripping many economists: that the drop-off in trade, driven by China, may be a harbinger of something more worrying – a global recession. Continue reading...

Science, ethics and economics are intersecting to form a clear market signal: in the lead-up to the COP21 climate talks, responsible investors should divest from fossil fuels (Report, 13 November). At a time when the fossil fuel industry should be shifting its businesses to focus on renewable energy, it is doing the opposite, doubling down on coal, oil and gas. Capital continues to flow into the exploration and future extraction of dirty energy. Long-term investment decisions must take into account the externalities of a business model at odds with physical realities. In the lead-up to the COP21 climate talks, the financial community has a vital role to play in the transition to a new energy economy – one where fossil fuels must be left in the ground. From a fiduciary perspective, there are a number of indicators that fossil fuel investments contain significant levels of risk. The energy sector steadily shifted from high-return, low-cost conventional projects, to high-cost, capital-intensive, complex projects. Meanwhile, clean, carbon-free energy is rapidly becoming cost-competitive with dirty energy.Within the investor community, the early adopters have already begun a substantial movement to divest from fossil fuels, a movement representing $2.6tn in assets under management. The world’s largest institutional investors, including the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth and Rockefeller Brothers funds, have all expressed their concern for carbon-related investment risk and are adjusting their portfolios accordingly by moving out of fossil fuel holdings. Divestment also models the kind of commitments we are expecting to be taken from governments. We call on national governments to take effective commitments to end all form of subsidies to fossil fuels at the forthcoming G20.

Narendra Modi and David Cameron are playing politics in a globalised world

Dow falls more than 200 points over consumer spending and interest rate worries as observers say high rents may curtail shopping during the holiday seasonThe economy might be faring better this year, but that does not mean Americans will be going all out this holiday season, according to the latest economic data.US retail sales barely rose in October, thanks to lower-than-expected car sales, data released on Friday shows. Could this be a sign of gloomy sales ahead? It might be too early to say, but the news was enough to push US stock markets lower.Related: American wages remain at 1997 levels as recovery fails to lift middle class Continue reading...

Disappointment as Germany, France and Italy only post modest growth, while Portugal stagnates and Finland’s decline continues

UK Asset Resolution deal with Cerberus Capital Management is the largest financial asset sale by a European governmentThe government has agreed to sell a £13bn collection of former Northern Rock mortgages to a US private equity group.UK Asset Resolution (Ukar), the zombie bank created to run down the loans in Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley, said it would sell the loan operation known as Granite as well as a further £1bn of Northern Rock loans to Cerberus Capital Management, which specialises in buying distressed debt. The deal is the biggest sale of financial assets by a European government, the Treasury said.Related: Northern Rock mortgages are latest gamble for US private equity firm CerberusRelated: If the Northern Rock fiasco was a morality tale, it was more about hubris than greed | Giles Fraser Continue reading...

French economy grows 0.3% in third quarter but Germany, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal all undershoot market expectationsThe eurozone’s economy lost steam in the latest quarter as Portugal stalled, Germany slowed and debt-stricken Greece contracted.Gross domestic product (GDP) across the 19 countries in the single currency bloc rose just 0.3% in the third quarter, according to Eurostat. That defied expectations for growth to hold at 0.4%, according to a Reuters poll of economists. On a year earlier, GDP was up 1.6%, lower than forecasts for 1.7%.Euro area GDP +0.3% in Q3 2015, +1.6% compared with Q3 2014 #Eurostat - https://t.co/t83KcLWq89 pic.twitter.com/zwRG0uzVJh#Italy's GDP +0.2% in Q3, slightly below PMI signal. More sluggish growth signalled so far in Q4 pic.twitter.com/SEN038nZUmRelated: Eurozone GDP: Growth slows to just 0.3% - live updates Continue reading...

If chancellor wants government to ‘do more with less’ he must halt expensive projects, prioritise manifesto pledges and make cuts more sensibly, IFG saysThe government must use the forthcoming spending review to kill off some of its costly projects and to ditch unrealistic targets such as doubling UK exports if it wants to balance the books this decade, a report warns.The Institute for Government (IFG) thinktank raises concerns over ministers and civil servants’ ability to manage what will be an unprecedented decade of austerity as the chancellor, George Osborne, demands they “deliver more with less”.

Petrol bombs thrown at police in first strike against bailout-related tax increases and spending cuts since Syriza-led government came to powerClashes have broken out between riot police and protesters in central Athens during Greece’s first general strike since the leftist Syriza-led government came to power in January.Nearly 25,000 people participated in three separate demonstrations in the capital on Thursday, according to police figures, in protest at a further round of bailout-related tax increases and spending cuts. Another 10,000 marched without incident through the country’s second largest city, Thessaloniki.Related: New Alexis Tsipras-led Greek government takes powerRelated: Greece: the election is over, the economic crisis is not Continue reading...

Youths throw Molotov cocktails in Athens, as thousands protest against the ‘vicious cycle’ of austerity in Greece during the first general strike since Alexis Tsipras became PM

Riot police and protesters have clashed in Athens during the first general strike since the country’s left-led government came to power in January. Petrol bombs were thrown at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Thousands are protesting against the country’s ‘vicious cycle’ of austerity.

A single global central bank would fail spectacularly, but this does not absolve policymakers of their responsibilitiesToday’s world is more economically and financially integrated than at any time since the latter half of the nineteenth century. But policymaking – particularly central banking – remains anachronistically national and parochial. Isn’t it time to re-think the global monetary (non) system? In particular, wouldn’t a single global central bank and a world currency make more sense than our confusing, inefficient, and outdated assemblage of national monetary policies and currencies?Technology is now reaching the point where a common digital currency, enabled by near-universal mobile phone adoption, certainly makes this possible. And however farfetched a global currency may sound, recall that before the first world war, ditching the gold standard seemed equally implausible.

Greek workers take to the streets in Athens on Thursday as a general strike across the country brings public services to a halt. Demonstrators gather around Syntagma Square to protest against the ‘vicious cycle’ of austerity measures in Greece. This is the first general strike under Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza-led government Continue reading...

1,000 extra deaths and an additional 30-40,000 suicide attempts may have occurred after the economic downturn, according to researchDebt, austerity and unemployment have been cited as significant factors in the rising number of British men who have killed themselves since 2008, according to new research.Academics from the universities of Bristol, Manchester and Oxford estimate that an 1,000 extra deaths from suicide and an additional 30-40,000 suicide attempts may have occurred from 2008-2010 following the economic downturn, reversing previous trends in Britain where suicide rates among men were falling. Continue reading...

Struggles intensify as elections loom in February. But succession to Ayatollah Khamenei as leader appears to be at the centre of the in-fighting, says Gareth SmythIranian politics is entering a delicate and perhaps pivotal period. Factional struggles, always lively, have intensified since July’s nuclear agreement with world powers, while the reformists are also pushing gently to return to mainstream politics.

Prime minister Alexis Tsipras under pressure as services including schools, hospitals, and banks are hit by 24-hour walkoutGreece’s leftist-led government will get a taste of people power on Thursday when workers participate in a general strike that will be the first display of mass resistance to the neoliberal policies it has elected to pursue.The country is expected to be brought to a halt when employees in both the public and private sector down tools to protest against yet more spending cuts and tax rises. “The winter is going to be explosive and this will mark the beginning,” said Grigoris Kalomoiris, a leading member of the civil servants’ union Adedy.

Mark Carney tells audience ‘heads I win; tails you lose’ capitalism is coming to an end but more needs to be doneGeorge Osborne has said City fraudsters should receive the same treatment as shoplifters as he joined forces with the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, to promise the public that the scandal-hit financial sector was being cleansed of wrongdoing.The chancellor said he understood the anger felt by voters towards bankers guilty of multimillion pound rip-offs and said they should be treated like other criminals if they broke the law.

UK chancellor vows to avoid repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, at the Bank of England’s first Open Forum

Despite the fall in unemployment, weakening earnings growth could prompt the Bank of England to hold interest rates steadyAt first glance, the latest jobs figures look curious. The economy is creating plenty of jobs. Unemployment is falling. The proportion of people in work has never been higher. These are precisely the conditions in which to expect upward pressure on wages.But pay inflation remains the dog that doesn’t bark. Excluding bonuses, regular earnings in the three months to September were 2.5% higher than in the same three months of 2014. This is down from the 2.8% recorded in the quarter that ended in August.Related: British pay growth slows but labour market remains healthy Continue reading...

The anger and frustration felt by hard-working people who have seen their wages and job security steadily diminish is fuelling a populist revolt against the political establishmentThe standard explanation for why average working people in advanced nations such as Britain and the United States have failed to gain much ground over the past several decades and are under increasing economic stress is that globalisation and technological change have made most people less competitive. The tasks we used to perform can now be done more cheaply by lower-paid workers abroad or by computer-driven machines.The left’s standard solution has been an activist government that taxes the wealthy, invests the proceeds in excellent schools and in other means that people need to become more productive, and redistributes to those in need. These prescriptions have been opposed vigorously by those on the right, who believe the economy will function better for everyone if government is smaller, public debt is reduced and taxes and redistributions are curtailed.In the wake of the junk-bond and takeover mania of the 1980s, economic risks were shifted from corporations to workersThose whose income derives from profits – execs, Wall Street traders and shareholders – have done exceedingly well Continue reading...

Employment rate hit record high of 73.7% but weakened earnings growth could threaten living standards if inflation starts to rise, data showsPay growth for Britain’s workers appears to be slowing sharply, raising questions about the durability of the recent improvement in living standards.Official figures published on Wednesday showed the labour market remained healthy in the three months to September, with the employment rate hitting a record high of 73.7%, and the unemployment rate sliding to 5.3%, its lowest level for more than seven years.Related: Ghosts of crashes past still haunt this consumer ChristmasRelated: Ten facts you might not know about the gender pay gap | Laura Bates Continue reading...

The Guardian’s David Levene goes behind the scenes at the Bank of England in London and brings us a glimpse of a world apart

George Osborne and ECB chief Mario Draghi at Open Forum to attend event where top bankers and finance figures share ideas with the publicThe latest attempt by the government to rehabilitate the battered reputation of the City of London takes place on Wednesday when Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, invites the public to have their say on the future of financial markets.Carney has invited the chancellor, George Osborne, and the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, to be the guests of honour at a day-long event at the Guildhall in London.Related: Inside the Bank of England | Jill Treanor and Larry Elliott Continue reading...

One academic argues that China selling $60bn of Treasury bonds a month raises US yields by 10 basis pointsFor much of the year, investors have been fixated on when the Federal Reserve will achieve “liftoff” – that is, when it will raise interest rates by 25 basis points, or 0.25%, as a first step toward normalising monetary conditions. Markets have soared and plummeted in response to small changes in Fed statements perceived as affecting the likelihood that liftoff is imminent.But, in seeking to gauge changes in US monetary conditions, investors have been looking in the wrong place. Since mid-August, when Chinese policymakers startled the markets by devaluing the renminbi by 2%, China’s official intervention in foreign exchange markets has continued, in order to prevent the currency from falling further. The Chinese authorities have been selling foreign securities, mainly US Treasury bonds, and buying up renminbi. Continue reading...

Since the crash, it has become more powerful than ever, but has the Bank got any better at spotting trouble? Larry Elliott and Jill Treanor are granted extraordinary access to this secretive institutionUp the stone steps. Through the heavy doors. Into an ornate lobby to be greeted by a security man wearing a pink frock coat and a top hat. These are a visitor’s first impressions of the Bank of England. The man in the fancy clothes, Reg Shaw, has worked there for 27 years. His coat is cleaned once a month. His top hat is custom-made by Patey of Mayfair, which has been making hats since 1695 – the year after the Bank of England opened its doors for the first time. All this sends a clear message: this place is old, this place is serious, this place has its own way of doing things. Like a medieval monastery, it is walled-off and self-contained. Behind this imposing facade, which occupies a three-acre site on Threadneedle Street, is one of the most powerful institutions in Britain.Upon entering, it feels a little like a mausoleum. The ceilings are high and there are mosaics on the floor. People speak quietly and walk with a measured tread. The corridors and stairwells form an intricate maze, in which staff sometimes get lost. It is not hard to see why some of the 2,200 people who work here fondly refer to it as Hogwarts.The new governor is keen to show that the modern Bank is more than a bunch of economists sitting above a bullion vaultThe Bank failed to spot the bubble in the housing market or do enough to rein in the excesses of the City Continue reading...

Investors have taken fright at the prospect that the US Fed could raise interest rates at the point when China is experiencing persistently weak demandStock markets in Asia Pacific have continued to slide as the spectre of higher borrowing costs in the United States and further signs of weakness in China prompted investors to trim their exposure to riskier assets.The recent rally that followed the market selloff in July and August has petered out as poor Chinese inflation figures on Tuesday pointed to persistent weak demand in the world’s second biggest economy.Related: US Federal Reserve is right to raise interest rates, yet risk remains Continue reading...

Like-for-like sales down 0.2% on same month last year, suggesting consumers delaying spending until US-inspired discount day in NovemberBritain’s retailers experienced a drop in sales last month, according to industry figures that suggest shoppers are putting off spending in anticipation of the discounts on Black Friday at the end of November.The British Retail Consortium also said that with Halloween falling on a Saturday this year fewer people went shopping on that key day for the sector. Retail sales in October were down 0.2% on a like-for-like basis compared with the same month last year, according to the BRC’s monthly retail sales monitor. The drop marked a change in fortunes after a sharp 2.6% rise in annual sales in September – although those figures were distorted by the timing of the end of summer bank holiday.Related: Angry Argos bargain-hunters complain at online sales glitch Continue reading...

Eurozone ministers have given Greece a few more days to deliver reforms, and unlock billions of euros of loans and new capital for its banks

European leaders are at odds with Athens over protection for families at risk of losing their homes because of mortgage defaultsEuropean leaders have told Greece that it must do more to prove it is pushing through the reforms its creditors have demanded before it can receive a €2bn (£1.4bn) aid payment.

Industry body fails to reflect different opinions of UK businesses but heckling the PM at CBI conference misses the markHow to spoil a half-decent point with a silly stunt. The Vote Leave students who heckled David Cameron’s speech to the CBI conference came across as wanting to squash debate on Europe. If, as suggested, similar protests are planned at the annual meetings of companies with pro-EU bosses, the tactic will become tiresome and probably self-defeating.Yet, on the narrow issue of the CBI’s utterances on Europe, there is a fair criticism to make. The problem is not that the CBI gets 0.6% of its funding from the European commission for use of its economic surveys – the percentage is so small it is not worth making a fuss about. Continue reading...

Thinktank says governments should boost spending and investment to support growthA sharp slowdown in global trade on the back of China’s troubles poses a threat to economic growth and calls for richer countries to step up investment while keeping monetary policy loose, a leading thinktank has warned.OECD cuts global growth f'cast to 2.9 for 2015, 3.3% for 2016, from 3.0 and 3.6 in Sept. Sept (left) and Nov tables pic.twitter.com/6aHTtIfch0 Continue reading...

Treasury, environment, transport and communities departments cede to chancellor’s austerity demands, but home and foreign ministries dig inFour government departments have agreed deep spending cuts of 8% a year for the next four years, George Osborne will announce.The Treasury and the Departments of Transport, Environment, and Communities and Local Government are the first ministries to agree cuts in a spending review intent on slashing £20bn from the cost of government.Related: How the spending review should look if the government wants a happier Britain | Gus O'Donnell Continue reading...

Shares in the Australian mining giant plunge to lowest since the global financial crisis as it announces it might cut its iron ore outputFalling commodity prices and the aftermath of the Brazil dam disaster have combined to push shares in the mining giant BHP Billiton to a seven-year low, helping to drag the wider Australian market down sharply.Related: Brazil dam burst: BHP boss to inspect disaster zone with dozens still missingRelated: Slowing growth in China raises red flag for global economy Continue reading...

Wages will increase by an average of 2% over the next year as employers continue to recruit workers, according to CIPD surveyPay rises will remain subdued over the next year, despite Britain’s robust recovery and complaints from business leaders of acute skills shortages, according to a survey of employers.Wages will increase by an average of 2% over the next year as UK employers continue to recruit the workers they need without significantly hiking wages.Related: Living wage rises further above government's 'national living wage'Related: World's young jobseekers still struggling, says ILO Continue reading...