George Osborne criticised for claims over EU £1.7bn bill as UK to pay full amount

George Osborne won more time to settle an outstanding and highly contested £1.7bn EU budget bill and went on to make a disputed claim that he had halved the money owed by factoring in Britain’s budget rebates in Europe.

EU budget: Britain must pay 'and that's that' says MEP

Europe expects the UK to pay an extra £1.7bn towards the EU budget "and that's that", a vice president of the European Parliament has said.

Pound slumps to 10-month low after Scottish yes campaign takes poll lead

The pound has slumped to a 10-month low after the yes campaign took the lead in the opinion polls just 10 days before the Scottish independence vote.

UK government finances show an unexpected deficit in July

Government finances showed an unexpected deficit in July for the second year running, according to official figures.

Britain ‘facing lost decade of economic growth’

Britain is facing a lost decade of economic growth despite the economic recovery, the latest forecasts from a respected think tank suggest today.

Banks to be forced to increase competition in SME lending

Britain's biggest banks are to be forced to increase competition in the SME loans market in a bid to ensure further growth in a key part of the economy.

Strong pound likely to dent UK manufacturing growth, warns CBI

Britain's factories have their strongest order books in six months but a rising pound could start to weigh on exports, the CBI has warned.

Chancellor says 200,000 homes could be built on brownfield land by 2020

Chancellor George Osborne claimed on Friday that 200,000 new homes could be created by 2020 by accelerating development of disused industrial sites.

Fall in lending to UK business raises concerns over shape of recovery

Lending to businesses fell again in recent months but more mortgages were approved, fanning fears of a housing bubble and raising more concerns over the shape of the recovery.

Housing market 'momentum' continues

Property sales rose sharply in February compared with a year ago, while rental costs started to go up again, figures have suggested.

British economic recovery incomplete, warns Osborne

London (AFP) - Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne warned Sunday that Britain's economic recovery was on course but far from completion as he prepared to deliver his annual budget this week.

Mortgage approvals a third higher in November than last year

Mortgage approvals in Britain were more than a third higher in November than a year earlier as government subsidies for homebuyers helped the property recovery gather pace.

Payday loan costs cap unveiled by George Osborne

The chancellor, George Osborne, has executed an audacious and politically significant U-turn by announcing the introduction of a cap on payday loans.

UK's economic growth prompts foretaste of election battle

Britain's strongest growth in more than three years has provided a foretaste of the looming general election battle as the Conservatives and Labour clashed over the state of the economy.

UK says its local banking rules eased for all, not just Chinese

LONDON: Britain is ready to relax its banking rules for any non-European bank, not just those from China who want to set up investment banking operations in London, its chief industry regulator said on Thursday.

George Osborne concedes Help to Buy could artificially inflate house prices

George Osborne has conceded that his £130bn Help-to-Buy lending scheme could artificially inflate the housing market after he asked the Bank of England to monitor the initiative's effect on property prices two years earlier than scheduled.

Recent UK manufacturing growth spurt fails to offset year's earlier falls

A recent rise in manufacturing output failed to override a bad year for Britain's factories, according to official figures on Friday.

British manufacturing at highest level for two years

Britain's manufacturers have cranked up production to its highest level for two years, according to business group the CBI, in the latest piece of evidence that the economy is picking up speed.

RBS sell-off may not happen for another five years, says Vince Cable

A sell off the taxpayer's 81% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland may not take place for another five years, according to business secretary Vince Cable.

Growth boost puts Labour on back foot

David Cameron and George Osborne were handed a precious weapon against Labour's attacks on their economic policies on Thursday as it emerged that the recovery picked up pace between April and June.