The euro zone needs German inflation to rise, so as to address the imbalances in competitiveness between member states without condemning much of the currency union to semi-permanent slump and unsustainable indebtedness. Countries such as Italy and Spain have to be able to undercut German inflation - and hence rebuild...

The UK economy exited recession in the third quarter, but underlying growth is much weaker than the 1% headline figure.

Preliminary data show that real GDP rebounded by 1% quarter on quarter in July-September, bringing an official end to the UK's double-dip recession. The third-quarter growth rate was the strongest...

The UK economy has been flatlining for two years, unemployment remains close to a 17-year high, bank lending has stagnated, living standards for most are falling, the housing market is stuck and the fiscal outlook is deteriorating. Perhaps it wasn't surprising that the annual party conference season favoured political positioning...

It was great while it lasted. For two weeks the London Olympics provided welcome respite from the economic gloom, political travails and banking scandals that have become a depressingly regular part of the news agenda since the Great Recession of 2008-09.

Positive legacy effects from the Olympic experience may...

The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has staked the British government's reputation on reducing the country's record-high peacetime fiscal deficit (11.4% of GDP in 2009). He has succeeded in making modest inroads since mid-2010, albeit by front-loading less politically contentious measures.

But the question remains as to whether the...