George Osborne has been criticised for failing to set out any concrete steps to promote economic growth or tackle tax avoidance during G7 talks, despi...

The importance of these figures isn't whether or not we have entered a triple dip, but that the UK economy is stuck in a rut. Real GDP remains 2.6 per cent below its peak level five years ago and has increased by just 0.4 per cent over the last two and a half years. After five years, this is disappointing news not only for the government but for businesses and consumers, who are experiencing a continued squeeze on their living standards.

I will leave the intricate takedowns of the coalition's housing, corporation tax and fuel duty escalator plans for the broadsheet newspapers - they do it better than most everyone else. I wish to focus on the macro side of things and, in particular, the role of the Bank of England in this year's and further budgets.

The ten things you need to know on the most anticipated day of the year, 12/12/12 (yep, you read that right)... 1) DO YOU KNOW WHO MY BOSS IS? Y...

The last time a good-looking Canadian of Irish descent took a bank job in Britain he made a great success of it. Matthew Barrett ran the Bank of Montreal then Barclay's Bank, This time, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, has landed Britain's most prestigious banking job as Governor of the Bank of England.

The consensus is that the BOE have got the best man available for the job, and it's hard to disagree.

The Chancellor's announcement today is audacious. He rode roughshod over a careful and open appointments procedure to ensure that Britain will, for the next eight years have a governor of the Bank of England whose experience, history and record is totally aligned with 'the takers' - the bankers and speculators that have asset-stripped the British economy.