The economy

Taxes may have to rise by significant amounts if the UK’s public finances are to return to balance in the timescale outlined by the Chancellor, a think tank has claimed.

Average weekly earnings fell by 5.8 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported.

Over half of employers are intending to freeze wages this year, and 12 per cent are planning to introduce wage cuts, according to a new survey.

It could take the length of “two parliaments of pain” before the economy recovers, a thin-tank has claimed.

Last December’s reduction in VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent has had a measurable effect on consumer spending, a think tank has claimed.

The UK economy could take up to three years to regain the levels of growth seen before the recession hit, a think tank has predicted.

With interest rates approaching zero and little sign that making money cheaper is having any effect on the economy, the Bank of England has decided to make it more abundant as well.

Policy makers at the Bank have turned to a mechanism for adding money to the system: quantitative easing.

The cost of operating a small firm has dropped as deflation replaces inflation during the deepening of the economic downturn.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said that the planned date for the restoration of the old rate of VAT will come at the worst possible time for businesses.

Job vacancies are falling at a record rate, a new report has found.