Economics / Markets

Portugal has said the austerity measures necessitated as part of its 78bn euro bailout package will plunge the country into recession.

The Bank of England has again held rates at 0.5% amid signs the economic recovery is failing to gather momentum.

A slew of downbeat economic data has bolstered the case against raising interest rates on Thursday, according to leading business groups.

Forget the coalition government's first birthday - after a heady 12 months of gargling and newness it is about to enter the Terrible Twos.

Britain's economic growth will fall significantly short of official forecasts as government cuts take their toll, according to a leading think-tank.

Bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group has made a £3.2bn provision for the cost of mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI), driving the bank to a loss in Q1.

The FTSE 100 fell towards the 6,000 mark mid-afternoon as weaker than expected US jobs data combined with a sell-off in commodities to weigh on shares.

Declines in metals and other commodity prices caused global indices to drop in Wednesday trading.

Oil major BP has agreed a deal with the US Department of Justice to pay $25m following the Prudhoe Bay oil spill in 2006.

Portugal's caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates has announced he has reached agreement on a bail-out from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.