In most circumstances today's IMF report would be taken as a pretty damning indictment of the state of the economy and our prospects for recovery. However, because the IMF has stopped short of openly calling for a "plan B" the Chancellor's allies appear to be classifying this as a victory.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today put pressure on George Osborne to change economic course in a critical assessment of the state of the Brit...

The ten things you need to know on Wednesday 8 May 2013... 1) A MODEST SPEECH FROM HER MAJESTY From the Times: "The Queen will open a new ses...

Each successive government of course blames the last for the financial mess it inherited but the truth is that the blame game pales in respect to apportioning blame for the 2008 global financial disaster.

An unprecedented triple-dip recession has been averted, but yesterday's lacklustre growth figures mean our economy is simply back to where it was six months ago. This continues the overall picture of a flatlining economy in Britain ever since George Osborne's last spending review. In fact, this is now the weakest recovery for over 100 years.

Chancellor George Osborne has rejected criticism of his economic austerity strategy by the International Monetary Fund. IMF chief economist Olivier...

There's nothing in economic theory that says you pause a third of the way through a deficit reduction programme which has gone way off track; nor does the fiscal framework, now effectively defunct with the abandonment of the debt target, dictate this approach.

The ten things you need to know on Sunday 21 April 2013... 1) THE TRIPLE DIP? It's been a bad week for the chancellor, with Tuesday seeing the I...

The ten things you need to know on Friday 19 April 2013... 1) ED REJECTS AUSTERITY In recent days, Tony Blair and his allies have been sounding ...

I wrote a global outlook piece at the end of last year, where I tipped 2013 to be "the year of the slow grind". Following today's latest set of economic predictions, it seems that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming round to that way of thinking.

George Osborne has been dealt a double blow by the International Monetary Fund, after it told the chancellor he should consider changing his austerity...

As we approach the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF this weekend in Washington, there remains significant uncertainty around the globe on economic growth and the soundness of our financial system.

This week South Africa hosts the fifth Brics summit, completing the first 'cycle' of summits that began in Yekaterinburg in 2008. Individually no-one disputes the group has flourished since then. Our respective economies have each grown apace in what have been very difficult circumstances.

One of the chancellor's closest allies has said that George Osborne "should stick to the strategy" of deficit reduction, despite admitting that auster...

One of the chancellor's closest allies has said that George Osborne "should stick to the strategy" of deficit reduction, despite admitting that "no on...

As I write, an MoD plane carrying one million Euros is being airlifted to Cyprus for UK military personnel. It must be a new and very literal definition of 'helicopter money'. And that's the problem. As long as policymakers continue to opt for radically different solutions in every case - then fear and loathing will never be far away from markets and now, once again, from savers.

What happens when the mood of a whole nation can be characterised by hopelessness and despair? In Greece, where people have been on the receiving end of severe austerity measures and lived through six years of recession, it's a question that politics, as we know it, seems incapable of addressing.

If GDP also shrinks in the first quarter of 2013, then the economy will be back in technical recession - the third recession in the space of five years. However, this still remains speculation. We will not know for sure whether the economy is back in recession for another three months.

The IMF's chief economist has suggested that Britain should tone down its austerity plans to help the struggling economy. Olivier Blanchard said th...