Supporters believe fully automated luxury communism is an opportunity to realise a post-work society, where machines do the heavy lifting and employment as we know it is a thing of the past

Allegations of a cover-up at Scotland Yard show that the British are as prone to malfeasance as any other nationIt just doesn’t compute. Almost every day the news is filled with stories that look to me like corruption. Yet on Transparency International’s corruption index Britain is ranked 14th out of 177 nations, suggesting that it’s one of the best-run nations on Earth. Either all but 13 countries are spectacularly corrupt or there’s something wrong with the index.Yes, it’s the index. The definitions of corruption on which it draws are narrow and selective. Common practices in the rich nations that could reasonably be labelled corrupt are excluded; common practices in the poor nations are emphasised.Related: Police watchdog to investigate claims Met covered up child abuseRelying on the World Bank to assess corruption is like asking Vlad the Impaler for an audit of human rightsRelated: Westminster child sex abuse claims: missing pieces remain in inquiry jigsaw Continue reading...

Here are six key graphs to consider as George Osborne presents his latest spending and savings plans, and growth forecasts, in his pre-election budgetGDP up 0.5%: recovery is on track & plan is protecting Britain from the economic storm. 2.6% growth in 2014 fastest of any major economyZero-hours workers earn nearly £300 a week less than permanent employees http://t.co/HOjzFOj7Nn Continue reading...

The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, tells Phoebe Greenwood that he and chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander have agreed to the Budget due to be presented to the Commons on Wednesday by the chancellor, George Osborne. The Lib Dem leader says the coalition's last Budget before the general election will make the tax system fairer. Clegg will not be drawn on whether he will offer Osborne a pat on the back this time around

The economic dynamics that are driving a growing gap between the two currencies are unpredictable and chasing higher US yields could be a mistakeThe US dollar is hitting new 12-year highs almost daily, while the euro seems to be plunging inexorably to below dollar parity. Currency movements are often described as the most unpredictable of all financial variables; but recent events in foreign-exchange markets seem, for once, to have a fairly obvious explanation – one that almost all economists and policymakers accept and endorse.French President François Hollande, for one, has ecstatically welcomed the plunging euro: “It makes things nice and clear: one euro equals a dollar,” he told an audience of industrialists. But it is when things seem “nice and clear” that investors should question conventional wisdom. A strong dollar and a weak euro is certainly the most popular bet of 2015. So is there a chance that the exchange-rate trend may already be overshooting?If the dollar continues to rise, US economic activity and inflation will weaken Continue reading...

We have to face the facts: our vast assets in fossil fuels may become worthless. It’s yet another reason to keep it in the groundFor over 200 years, modern civilisation has been built on fossil fuels; now climate science says we must phase out fossil fuel pollution in just a few decades. That’s a colossal challenge – especially if we are to keep anything resembling current lifestyles while also ending the poverty that blights the lives of more than 1 billion fellow human beings.We are already seeing a significant shift in thinking. The Rockefeller Foundation is divesting from coal and tar sands. Oxford University is considering similar action. And the Bank of England is analysing the impact on financial systems of fossil fuel investments becoming “stranded assets” – in other words worthless – if the world gets its act together on climate change.Related: Ed Davey backs divestment from 'very risky' coal assets Continue reading...

Disgruntled rightwingers or disillusioned generation, we must recognise the importance of their grievancesUnder the scorching Rio de Janeiro sun and only metres from the famous Copacabana shoreline, even the most committed of Sunday’s demonstrators seemed to give in to the indolence of the place, with an often surreal result: a handmade placard calling for the president’s impeachment in one hand, a refreshing caipirinha in the other.And even if this did not feel like your usual carefree Sunday stroll down Copa’s Avenida Atlântica, it was nowhere close to the enraged and politically conscious crowd that shook the country just over two years ago.As in the European south, Brazil is about to be trapped by the unrelenting demands of global capitalRelated: Brazil: hundreds of thousands of protesters call for Rousseff impeachment Continue reading...

As the May election draws nearer, a Post-Crash Economics society poll shows how voters struggle with concepts like GDP, quantitative easing and deficit

We will not see a crash in the bond market unless central banks tighten monetary policy very sharply or there is a major spike in inflationThe prices of long-term government bonds have been running very high in recent years (that is, their yields have been very low). In the United States, the 30-year Treasury bond yieldreached a record low (since the Federal Reserve series began in 1972) of 2.25% on January 30. The yield on the United Kingdom’s 30-year government bond fell to 2.04% on the same day. The Japanese 20-year government bond yielded just 0.87% on January 20.All of these yields have since moved slightly higher, but they remain exceptionally low. It seems puzzling – and unsustainable – that people would tie up their money for 20 or 30 years to earn little or nothing more than these central banks’ 2% target rate for annual inflation. So, with the bond market appearing ripe for a dramatic correction, many are wondering whether a crash could drag down markets for other long-term assets, such as housing and equities. Continue reading...

Greco-German relations reach new low, as Greek finance minister faces criticism over giving-the-finger video clip from 2013The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has been invited to Berlin during a new low in Greco-German relations, after the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, was forced to deny “giving the finger” to Germany in a two-year-old YouTube video.The German leader, Angela Merkel, invited Tsipras for his first visit to Berlin since he came to power in January on an anti-austerity platform that has led to clashes with Greece’s creditors, including Germany.@myrovolos No editing on my video. And if you watch it, he references the finger also for Argentina. @MarcusSchwarze pic.twitter.com/E77Nb7C4Qi Continue reading...

Proportion expecting higher output and orders smaller than in 2014, but British firms more optimistic than counterparts in other major economies, says MarkitUK businesses are looking forward to a buoyant 2015 despite jitters over the outcome of the general election and the impact of the stronger pound on the recovery.The optimistic outlook in Britain is in contrast with much of the world – with the exception of the eurozone, where a growing number of firms that expect this year to be better than the last.

Its contents have not only changed but have expanded greatly since the price of a ‘typical’ shopping basket began being record in 1947 to help calculate inflationWhat’s in, what’s out? It’s time for the annual reshuffle of the shopping basket used to measure inflation in the UK, almost 70 years since it was first compiled.

The chancellor promised many things in the 2010 ‘emergency’ budget. How close has he come to delivering?When George Osborne delivers what could be his last budget on Wednesday, just weeks before the election, it will be a time to look forward: the chancellor’s annual day in the spotlight will set the tone of the Tories’ campaign, and perhaps even lay the groundwork for a future leadership bid.But lest we get too swept along by the theatrics of the occasion, and the practised rhetoric of this consummate politician, it’s worth comparing his record over the past five years with the task he set himself in the “emergency” budget of 2010.On prosperity being shared by “all sections of society”, the chancellor's record is woeful Continue reading...

The chancellor will be trumpeting jobs, growth and helo for families in his budget speech - and his opponents will have their ammunition readyGeorge Osborne will fire the starting gun on the 2015 general election campaign on 18 March when he delivers his sixth budget since becoming chancellor in May 2010. All budgets are political but pre-election budgets are the most political of all, offering one last chance to grab the headlines with some eye-catching measures.Back in 2010, the chancellor pledged to sort out Britain’s budget deficit in one parliamentary term and wean the economy off its dependency on debt-driven growth. Although things have not gone according to plan, Osborne has a political narrative and will stick to it. Here are five statements from the Chancellor to look out for on Wednesday – and the likely counterpunches from the government’s opponents.Incomes per head are the same now as in 2006, and business investment has fallen for the past two quarters Continue reading...

Academic heads see 59% pay increase while lecturers decry secrecy at the topA pay increase for university vice-chancellors of nearly 60% in the last two decades cannot be justified by their performance in the job, research suggests.University heads have seen their salaries soar during recent years to an average of £260,000, with some receiving packages worth more than £400,000 a year. The salary levels have been criticised by lecturers’ unions, the Commons public accounts committee and business secretary Vince Cable. Now a study by Brighton University, which looked at the remuneration between 1998 and 2009 of 193 vice-chancellors leading 95 UK institutions, has uncovered a real-term pay increase of 59%. On average, vice-chancellors received pay awards that were four times those of lecturers and the differential has widened over time. Continue reading...

Spokesman for German chancellor says issue of Greece’s economic future is about more than two nations as Syriza government battles to avoid ‘Grexident’The spokesman of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has denied a “private feud” has broken out between Berlin and Athens, as the radical Syriza government battles to avoid leaving the single currency – a risk euro-watchers have dubbed “Grexident”.

Central bank lowers rate by one point, continuing easing cycle begun in JanuaryThe Russian central bank has cut interest rates by one percentage point, sending a strong signal that it sees the rapidly declining economy as a more serious worry than high inflation.The bank cut its main interest rate to 14%, continuing an easing cycle that began in January when it unexpectedly cut the rate by two points. Continue reading...

Bank’s markets chief Chris Salmon warns of increasingly likelihood that a ‘flash crash’ in one market risks contagion in othersThe Bank of England has warned the financial community against complacency in the wake of a series of “short sharp shocks” in markets over recent months that it said could happen more frequently.Chris Salmon, the Bank’s executive director for markets, said uncertainty surrounding the global economy following the collapse in the oil price had heightened anxiety in the major currency and bond markets. Continue reading...

From employment and migration to Britain’s role on the world stage, a look at how the country has fared under the coalition governmentHow has Britain fared under the coalition? On the surface the economic data shows the coalition has been a success, but digging deeper reveals an uneven recovery that has left many behind, a series of unmet promises and a divided country with a smaller standing on the world stage.These 12 graphs summarise how Britain has fared since May 2010. The overall picture? A country with the chassis of a Jaguar with the engine of a Morris Minor hiding under the bonnet. Continue reading...

Thomas Piketty might argue that we need growth to resolve inequality, but this is just a comforting half-truth our politicians can use to justify business as usualWouldn’t it be wonderful if our politicians focused on things that matter, like the kind of society we want to live in, instead of squabbling over TV debates and “empty chairs”? Why couldn’t they be a bit more like actor Michael Sheen, for instance, whose barnstorming defence of public values went viral after he turned out for a rain-soaked St David’s Day rally in support of the NHS?The closest we’ve come to that kind of passion is Ed Miliband’s measured attack on the perils of inequality. “Tackling inequality is the new centre ground of politics,” claimed the Labour leader in his Hugo Young lecture last month, citing Obama’s State of the Union Address, the election of New York mayor Bill de Blasio and the Pope.Related: A wave of disruption is sweeping in to challenge neoliberalismRelated: The dilemma of growth: prosperity v economic expansion Continue reading...

Dramatic fall in oil prices contributes to improved trade balance but higher pound and fall in exports to eurozone limit gainsBritain’s trade balance improved in January after a dramatic fall in oil prices cut the cost of imports.But the higher pound and a fall in exports to the eurozone limited the gains from cheaper energy supplies brought into the UK. Continue reading...

Ranking hardship is not a simple, or happy, task – but as the world urbanises, city poverty becomes ever more important. Here are the places that struggle mostFor most of history, and despite the stereotype of urban squalour, it has been the countryside where poverty has particularly thrived. But as the world urbanises, poverty is moving with it. Over the past decade, the share of poverty in the developing world blighting cities rather than rural areas has jumped from 17% to 28%. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost a quarter of all poverty is urban. In east Asia, half.You know it when you see it, of course, but modelling poverty is a complicated business, and ranking hardship not a simple, or happy, task. One thing is certain, though: given that China has so effectively hauled much of its population out of pauperism, and with North Korea statistically dark, sub-Saharan Africa has the most extreme examples of urban impoverishment.Related: What is the oldest city in the world?Related: What's the world's coldest city? Continue reading...

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Bank Of America fail to win central bank’s unconditional approvalFour of the largest US banks just scraped through the annual Federal Reserve financial checkup, underscoring the central bank’s ongoing doubts about Wall Street’s resilience more than six years after the financial crisis.Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, all with large and risky trading operations, lowered their ambitions for dividends and share buybacks, the Fed said on Wednesday, to keep them robust enough to withstand a hypothetical financial crisis. The revised plans allowed them to pass the Fed’s simulation of a severe recession. Continue reading...

Whether you win or lose as average wages fluctuate depends on your income and how the government enacts further deficit cutsIs it really over? The longest squeeze on living standards since Victorian times is finally at an end – on paper at least. Across the economy as a whole, average wage growth has overtaken inflation, meaning pay is rising in real terms.But averages can mask wide differences in individuals’ experience; and many in Britain will be asking themselves why they still feel no better off. Continue reading...

ECB’s quantitative easing programme and deepening of Greek crisis among the factors sending the euro down and boosting prospects for eurozone exportersA fresh plunge in the value of the euro against the dollar was shrugged off by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday as it said its new growth-boosting policy would work without triggering a global currency war.With the euro on course to dive below parity against the dollar within the next few weeks, one of the ECB’s senior policymakers denied that Frankfurt was deliberately driving the single currency lower in an attempt to secure a competitive advantage. Continue reading...

Four-year bailout programme is expected to unlock further credit from donors and includes immediate $5bn payment to help stabilise conflict-hit economyThe International Monetary Fund has signed off on a $17.5bn (£11.8bn) four-year aid programme for Ukraine, the second attempt in less than a year to help the country avoid bankruptcy.

Your editorial on the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (9 March) completely misses the point of what parliament has asked us to do.We have been asked to assess the outlook for the public finances on the basis of the government’s tax and spending policies as it currently expresses them, not on the basis of how we think they will or should evolve. Continue reading...

Coalition Britain: Retirement-age households saw income rise 10%, while that of working-age homes fell 4%, according to study by the Resolution FoundationBritain’s pensioners are emerging from the austerity years with their standard of living unscathed, while their children and grandchildren are struggling to make up the ground they lost in the recession, according to analysis by a thinktank.

MPC member says fall in oil prices provided breathing space, but little more, and that he could see himself voting for higher borrowing costs in coming monthsThe prospect of another split at the Bank of England over interest rates has emerged as one of its leading “hawks” says he could see himself voting for higher borrowing costs over the coming months.Martin Weale, one of the four independent members of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee, said that despite global worries about low inflation the decision about whether to raise interest rates was finely balanced. Continue reading...

While reporting for the BBC on the 2008 meltdown, Robert Peston was also facing personal tragedy. He talks about the pain of losing his wife to cancer, adrenaline addiction – and the haircut that spawned its own Twitter accountA year or so ago, Robert Peston got a new job, and immediately felt rather unwell. After 30 years as an influential business and political reporter in Fleet Street, and eight as the BBC’s business editor, reporting on the biggest financial story in half a century and breaking scoops so significant that he was at times accused of singlehandedly shifting the markets, he moved to become the broadcaster’s economics editor, and to a suddenly, shockingly, quieter life.Though still busy, the release from the rat-a-tat round of results, bonuses and resignations meant he was rarely called upon to be on hand all day, from the Today programme in the morning to the Ten O’Clock News at night, as had been commonplace before. The abrupt change of rhythm, he says, left him feeling “almost physically ill for a few weeks, and I was trying to work out what the hell was going on”. Continue reading...

Steep drop in hi-tech goods sector blamed for decline in monthly figureBritain’s manufacturers cut production going into the new year, according to official figures that showed a dip of 0.5% in output in January compared with the previous month.The fall in output contributed to an unexpected reverse in the broader measure of industrial production, which fell month on month by 0.1%, against a 0.2% increase predicted by economists taking part in a Reuters poll. Continue reading...

Eurozone currency slides after ECB launches €60bn-a-month quantitative easing programmeCity analysts are betting that the euro could soon sink to the same value as the US dollar on foreign exchanges, after the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme kicked off.The euro has fallen sharply since last summer when Mario Draghi, the ECB president, laid the groundwork for QE; but the currency has fallen further since the monthly €60bn (£42bn) bond-buying programme began on Monday. Continue reading...

British Chambers of Commerce upgrades growth forecast despite slowdown in investment but warns of dependence on consumer spending and rising imports

All major US stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors worry about signs that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates for first time since 2008 crisisUS stock markets fell on Tuesday as investors worried about rising interest rates and a strengthening dollar.

Alan Rusbridger failed to mention (Why we put the climate on the cover, 7 March) that Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything is subtitled Capitalism v the Climate. Her thesis is that global capitalism, as it demands ever-increasing consumption of goods and services by the world’s population, is the main driver of catastrophic climate change. The agents of capitalism like to believe that consumption will go on for ever, and ignore, and persuade us to ignore, the unpleasant fact that the earth’s resources are not infinite.The sad reality is that so entrenched is capitalism in governments, corporations, banking systems and other global elites, and so dependent on it are “we”, the ordinary working people of this planet, for our lifestyles, comfortable, impoverished or luxurious as they may be, that the chances of getting rid of, or even modifying, capitalism are effectively nil. It’s all about power, and the ability to enforce the status quo. The likelihood is, as Tom Lehrer put it: “We will all go together when we go.”

Budget carrier comes to rescue of Castellón airport, which opened in 2011 but lay unused for years and became an emblem of reckless spending before recessionRyanair is set to become the first airline to operate scheduled flights from the Spanish “ghost airport” of Castellón.The Irish carrier will announce plans on Wednesday to fly from the airport, which cost €150m (£107m) to build but stood empty for almost four years and is widely regarded as a symbol of regional governments’ profligacy during Spain’s long-gone property boom. Continue reading...

Currency traders brace for single currency to fall below parity against dollar as slowing Chinese economy and prospect of higher US rates buoy greenback