Economics

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has called on the government to loosen its debt reduction plans as growth forecasts are slashed for the UK.

The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% for the 41st consecutive month and kept its bond-purchase target at £375bn.

Capital Economics expects the Bank of England to cut the UK's base rate from 0.5% in an effort to stimulate growth, after last week's GDP figure showed the economy is shrinking faster than feared.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 2.4% in June, from 2.8% in May, official figures show.

The Bank of England (BoE) has extended its quantitative easing programme by £50bn, in a bid to get the UK economy out of recession.

The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter, the final official reading has confirmed.

The UK narrowly escaped a double-dip recession by posting slight growth in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest monthly GDP estimate from NIESR.

Widespread errors in government and financial sector estimates of life expectancy could cost billions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

Economists have suggested scrapping bank holidays in the UK in order to boost the country's struggling economy by as much as £19bn a year.

The chairman of the All-Parliamentary Group on Insurance and Financial Services, Jonathan Evans MP, has been confirmed for the insurance strand as Incisive Media's brands collaborate to bring analysis of George Osborne's Budget Statement.