Economics / Markets

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has warned that the US' failure to raise its debt ceiling could be far worse than the country's current government shutdown.

A simple typographical error boosted Spain's 2014 public debt forecast by €10bn (£8.4bn), the government has admitted.

SOAPBOX

US

Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to continue cutting taxes for what he calls the "hardworking people in our country".

Supermarket giant Tesco led the FTSE 100 lower this morning after revealing its profits had dropped off sharply.

Markets across Asia have fallen on news the US government may be headed for its first shutdown of services in almost 20 years.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said the UK economy is recovering and does not need a further expansion of the quantitative easing programme.

FIVE YEARS ON

Malcolm Streatfield, the chief executive of Lighthouse Group, said the company is seeing the "first green shoots of recovery" following a difficult two years as the business prepared for new rules brought about by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)....