Latest financial, market & economic news and analysis | Business

Tesco chief Dave Lewis still to reveal hand after 100 days

Analysts await next move to turn around ailing supermarket chain and expect gloomy trading update in January

Tesco chief Dave Lewis still to reveal hand after 100 days
- US employment report smashes forecasts with 321,000 new jobs created
  
  All the latest business and economic news, as the US Non-Farm Payroll shows the biggest monthly increase in almost three years
  
  US employment report smashes forecasts with 321,000 new jobs created
- Facebook accused of refusing to listen to ‘voice of public opinion’
  
  Margaret Hodge, chair of Commons public accounts committee, reiterates criticism of group’s financial structure
  
  Facebook accused of refusing to listen to ‘voice of public opinion’
- Fury over Premier Foods ‘pay to stay’ scheme
  
  Suppliers say Ambrosia custard maker requested hefty payments in order to continue doing business with them
  
  Fury over Premier Foods ‘pay to stay’ scheme
- EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall received more than £7m last year
  
  Carolyn McCall’s £665,000 salary, £1.15m annual bonus and £5.9m share award reflects performance and profits, says firm
  
  EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall received more than £7m last year
- Hornby to sell James Bond Spectre merchandise
  
  Toymaker has won the international licence to sell Corgi and Scalextric-branded James Bond products ahead of the release of Spectre next year
  
  Hornby to sell James Bond Spectre merchandise
- TalkTalk customers hit by India-based scam calls prompting fears of data leak
  
  More than 100 customers say they’ve been contacted by callers quoting their personal details
  
  TalkTalk customers hit by India-based scam calls prompting fears of data leak
- Latest Qatari bid still too low, says Canary Wharf owner
  
  Songbird investors have two months to consider £2.6bn cash bid from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Brookfield
  
  Latest Qatari bid still too low, says Canary Wharf owner
- Treasury civil servant in line for Ofcom top job
  
  Sharon White recommended to the culture secretary, Sajid Javid, as the media regulator’s new chief executive
  
  Treasury civil servant in line for Ofcom top job
- Welsh county named biggest debt hotspot in UK
  
  Denbighshire, north Wales, found to have highest concentration of people contacting Citizens Advice over financial problems
  
  Welsh county named biggest debt hotspot in UK

Three ex-Icap brokers plead not guilty to Libor rigging charges

Trio will likely stand trial alongside two other former brokers who pleaded not guilty to similar charges last year

Three ex-Icap brokers plead not guilty to Libor rigging charges
RBS gives 10 executives £5.5m in allowances to sidestep EU bonus cap

Disclosure by the 80% taxpayer-owned bank shows the 10 received £1.9m of these allowances for the last four months of 2014

RBS gives 10 executives £5.5m in allowances to sidestep EU bonus cap
Lower Primark sales in warm autumn fail to hit AB Foods’ expectations

Discount clothing store’s overall sales remain higher than a year ago because of the rapid expansion of the chain

Lower Primark sales in warm autumn fail to hit AB Foods’ expectations
DJ Rekha: turning 'cab driver music' into a viable business

The entrepreneur and immigrant is a woman in her 40s in a business that favors young men, but she shrugs it off: ‘Anything with power, guys are there first’

DJ Rekha: turning 'cab driver music' into a viable business
US jobs report beats forecasts as 321,000 positions added in November

Unemployment rate stays at 5.9% and 9 million still out of work as Thanksgiving storms appear not to have hampered figures

US jobs report beats forecasts as 321,000 positions added in November
Clothes retailer Bebe suffers data hack during busy Thanksgiving shopping period

Women’s clothing chain ‘moved quickly to block attack’ in which cardholder names, account numbers and verification codes may have been exposed

Clothes retailer Bebe suffers data hack during busy Thanksgiving shopping period
British workers suffer biggest real-wage fall of major G20 countries

International Labour Organisation finds in three years to 2013 UK wages fared worse than most of the eurozone’s crisis hit economies

British workers suffer biggest real-wage fall of major G20 countries
Balfour Beatty turns down £1bn bid for its PPP portfolio

Construction company says public-private partnership business worth far more than offer from John Laing Infrastructure Fund

Balfour Beatty turns down £1bn bid for its PPP portfolio
Mount Gibson Iron to slash Koolan Island jobs and cut targets

Iron ore producer hit by falling global price and a sea wall collapse, forcing it to cut production targets and flag writedowns

Mount Gibson Iron to slash Koolan Island jobs and cut targets
Slowdown in construction increases chances of new year rate cuts

Building industry activity slowed in November, new survey shows, as Westpac changes tack and forecasts cheaper borrowing

Slowdown in construction increases chances of new year rate cuts
Soap opera shows the ECB’s weakness

Nils Pratley: Behind the verbal gymnastics, the eurozone economy sinks to its knees.

Soap opera shows the ECB’s weakness
North Sea oil exploration to be allocated taxpayers’ money

Financial support for seismic surveys welcomed by oil industry but criticised by environmental campaigners

North Sea oil exploration to be allocated taxpayers’ money
Ferguson business owners say business is down 50% as they rebuild

A week after riots and unrest in Ferguson, small business owners with destroyed property find themselves at the center of the city’s attempts to move on

Ferguson business owners say business is down 50% as they rebuild

George Osborne may live to regret his rush towards Wigan pier

Jonathan Freedland

Jonathan Freedland: The chancellor has credibility. But the spectre of 1930s-style cuts may be too much for voters to accept

George Osborne may live to regret his rush towards Wigan pier
- I had thought the New Era estate might spark a London revolution. I was wrong
  
  Ian Jack
  
  Ian Jack: The story of low-income tenants facing 400% rent hikes thanks to a profit-hungry consortium seemed just the kind of cause Londoners would rally behind. But even with Russell Brand in the vanguard, the barricades remain unstormed
  
  I had thought the New Era estate might spark a London revolution. I was wrong
- Experts reflect on progress of circular economy in last year
  
  Hannah Gould
  
  We’ve asked a range of experts to reflect on the progress of the circular economy in the last year - the results are mixed
  
  Experts reflect on progress of circular economy in last year
- Australia's dreadful GDP figures – six things you need to know
  
  Greg Jericho
  
  With Australia’s annual economic growth rate slipping below 3%, is there any sunshine amid all the gloom?
  
  Australia's dreadful GDP figures – six things you need to know

Autumn statement seems a repeat of 2010 no-winner austerity election

As Tories promise ever more aggressive cuts and Miliband and Balls seem confused, every party loses in echoes of past

Autumn statement seems a repeat of 2010 no-winner austerity election
Very political chancellor sharpens battle lines in autumn statement

George Osborne targets voters who decide election but opposition believes he is still vulnerable

Very political chancellor sharpens battle lines in autumn statement
George Osborne’s Google tax doesn’t add up to a radical reform

Chancellor trumpeted his diverted profits tax as a far-reaching crackdown but the reality may not be so ambitious

George Osborne’s Google tax doesn’t add up to a radical reform
The Guardian view on Russia: rouble trouble

Editorial: After Vladimir Putin’s foreign adventures, it is time to reckon with harsh economic realities on the home front

The Guardian view on Russia: rouble trouble
Stamp duty change shows Osborne is addicted to rising house prices

Patrick Collinson

Patrick Collinson: It is no surprise estate agents support the chancellor’s new stamp duty – sellers will want buyers’ savings added to the price

Stamp duty change shows Osborne is addicted to rising house prices
Ladbrokes transformed by departing CEO? Don’t bet on it

Nils Pratley

Nils Pratley: Praise of Richard Glynn may shock shareholders. Five years ago the gap behind William Hill was two lengths, now it is a furlong

Ladbrokes transformed by departing CEO? Don’t bet on it
No wonder landowners are scared. We are starting to learn who owns Britain

George Monbiot

George Monbiot: Scotland is breaking the cover-up that stifles our political thought. Bring the Highland Spring south

No wonder landowners are scared. We are starting to learn who owns Britain
Diggers to the ready for Danny’s delivery as he goes for confusion

It seems no amount of homebuilding or flood defences will stop the Lib Dems being washed away in next year’s election

Diggers to the ready for Danny’s delivery as he goes for confusion
Our obsession with heroic sustainability leaders will leave us all disappointed

Jem Bendell

We need to let go of the assumption that captains of industry must control, rather than liberate and empower, people and nature

Our obsession with heroic sustainability leaders will leave us all disappointed
Helge Lund’s golden hello has lost some of its sparkle. Rightly so

Nils Pratley

BG’s board should have realised the original policy-busting deal would have triggered a shareholder rebellion

Helge Lund’s golden hello has lost some of its sparkle. Rightly so
Low-paid jobs at the root of Osborne’s failure to bring down the deficit

Questions over whether Labour’s plans would have suffered from eurozone crisis and oil prices in same way – but Alastair Darling also expected private investment return

Low-paid jobs at the root of Osborne’s failure to bring down the deficit
Gordon Brown: without winning an election, he has left a legacy greater than Tony Blair’s

Jonathan Freedland

Jonathan Freedland: His predecessor was always seen as the winner, but Brown retires having saved the pound, the global economy and the United Kingdom

Gordon Brown: without winning an election, he has left a legacy greater than Tony Blair’s
Economic dishonesty is the deadliest deficit of all

Polly Toynbee

Polly Toynbee: Chancellor George Osborne will disguise the harm he means to do in the autumn statement, but Labour and the Lib Dems are trapped in me-too territory

Economic dishonesty is the deadliest deficit of all
Poverty is at its most deadly when it becomes normal

Ally Fogg

Ally Fogg: Shocking evidence of the effects of austerity in Britain is being met with a silence that suggests a dangerous indifference

Poverty is at its most deadly when it becomes normal
How to take back the NHS, before it’s too late

David Owen

David Owen: The coalition’s 2012 health reform act was disastrous. It can be overturned – but time is running out

How to take back the NHS, before it’s too late
George Osborne’s autumn statement: I’m afraid there is no money

Chancellor’s extra NHS cash is equivalent to rummaging down the back of the sofa for change to feed the electricity meter

George Osborne’s autumn statement: I’m afraid there is no money

10 things we learned about technology and sustainable urban transport

Here are the highlights of a recent debate about harnessing the power of technology to keep city transport clean, sustainable and efficient, writes Sarah LaBrecque

10 things we learned about technology and sustainable urban transport
How do you put a price on water? Try algorithms

A water pricing company, Ecolab, has created an algorithm to help companies efficiently use water

How do you put a price on water? Try algorithms
How to address wage issues in garment industry: boycott, pressurise or invest?

How the garment industry and consumers can bring about a change in the sweatshop conditions endured by workers in developing countries

How to address wage issues in garment industry: boycott, pressurise or invest?
Lessons from Dr Suess on power, status and sustainability

It is time for all of us to wear the ‘sandals of humility’ if we are to end division and inequality in society

Lessons from Dr Suess on power, status and sustainability

Managing a river is no plain sailing - five things you need to know

When it comes to rivers, complexity – mystery, even – is the norm. Here’s what to keep in mind

Managing a river is no plain sailing - five things you need to know
Lawsuits, scams and whistleblowers: is the hunt for solar fraud bad politics or a good thing?

As clean energy cases hit the courts, investigations are underway – and not just from the usual suspects

Lawsuits, scams and whistleblowers: is the hunt for solar fraud bad politics or a good thing?
Eco-innovation: going beyond creating technology for technology's sake

Sustainable innovations often arise from combining and understanding existing technologies

Eco-innovation: going beyond creating technology for technology's sake
The circular economy - we'd like your ideas for our coverage

Talkpoint: GSB readers identified the circular economy as a key trend in 2015. What areas and topics would you like to see us explore, and who are the people you want to hear from?

The circular economy - we'd like your ideas for our coverage
Could Islamic finance save capitalism?

Islamic finance is widely misunderstood but its core principles could provide a blueprint for a sustainable global economy

Could Islamic finance save capitalism?
Why impact assessments are good for non-profits but bad for business

In the hands of corporations aiming to profitably serve the poorest consumers impact assessments can impede progress

Why impact assessments are good for non-profits but bad for business
Cleaning up the environment is complicated. Can software make it simpler?

Companies turn to a growing crop of green remediation software to weigh the environmental and social impacts of cleanups, landfills and more

Cleaning up the environment is complicated. Can software make it simpler?
Whose job is it to protect human rights?

Businesses are being asked to take more and more responsibility for protecting human rights. Does this let governments off the hook?

Whose job is it to protect human rights?
Australian companies fail to identify sustainability risks and opportunities

A new study of ASX 50 companies finds only a handful are dealing with sustainability issues strategically

Australian companies fail to identify sustainability risks and opportunities
Business leaders must prioritise sustainability to gain society's trust

Companies will be judged on what they do, not what they say about going green

Business leaders must prioritise sustainability to gain society's trust
Tougher government attitudes on climate change key to business action

A new study shows that while higher prices have forced change, stronger policy action has prompted British retailers to move faster than their US counterparts to reduce greenhouse emissions

Tougher government attitudes on climate change key to business action
Science won't win over the climate change sceptics - we need stories

People respond better to climate change solutions than a bitter argument about its causes, says Adam Corner

Science won't win over the climate change sceptics - we need stories
Our obsession with heroic sustainability leaders will leave us all disappointed

Jem Bendell

We need to let go of the assumption that captains of industry must control, rather than liberate and empower, people and nature

Our obsession with heroic sustainability leaders will leave us all disappointed
Why Scandinavia is not the model for global prosperity we should all pursue

Henrietta Moore

With high levels of equality, low unemployment and sophisticated social services, Norway, Denmark and Sweden represent models many strive to emulate, but they are not the northern utopias they seem

Why Scandinavia is not the model for global prosperity we should all pursue
Intelligent transport systems: ending the gridlock

For cities to remain the engines of economic growth, there has to be a technological revolution in the way their transport works

Intelligent transport systems: ending the gridlock

Black Friday: police shut down Tesco after shopper scuffles - video

Black Friday shoppers engaged in frantic scuffles in a north London Tesco shortly after midnight

Black Friday: police shut down Tesco after shopper scuffles - video
RBS latest scandal shows incompetence, says Vince Cable – video

The business secretary, Vince Cable, says the latest banking scandal involving RBS has been disastrous for many households

RBS latest scandal shows incompetence, says Vince Cable – video
Tony Abbott says China trade agreement ‘a very good day for Australia' - video

In a joint media conference with the president of China, Xi Jinping, the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, hails the signing of a free trade agreement

Tony Abbott says China trade agreement ‘a very good day for Australia' - video

Channel 4 News economics editor Paul Mason lambasts the banks – video

Mason lambasts the Royal Bank of Scotland and the five other banks fined for manipulating foreign exchange rates

Channel 4 News economics editor Paul Mason lambasts the banks – video
Eurostar unveils new Channel Tunnel train - video

The first of seven new 200mph state-of-the-art trains is unveiled in London on Thursday by Eurostar

Eurostar unveils new Channel Tunnel train - video
Monty the penguin: John Lewis unveils its Christmas ad – video

John Lewis unveils its latest Chritsmas advert on Thursday centring on the friendship between a young boy and Monty, a CGI-animated penguin

Monty the penguin: John Lewis unveils its Christmas ad – video
How to build a business: 'Accept all the blame and defer all the praise'

In the debut of the Guardian's Small Business Conversations video series, Wayne Sosin, the owner of Worksman Cycles, compares experiences with Kent Kilroe, owner of bespoke menswear maker Freemans Sporting Club

How to build a business: 'Accept all the blame and defer all the praise'

Lloyds bank customers react to job losses and branch closures – video

Customers react to Lloyds' announcement of 9,000 job losses and 150 branch closures over the next three years

Lloyds bank customers react to job losses and branch closures – video
Tesco's finances at 'worst point in history', says analyst - video

Financial Analyst Louis Cooper says Tesco's finances have reached their "worst point" in the supermarket's history

Tesco's finances at 'worst point in history', says analyst - video
Driver involved in runway death of Total boss was drunk, say Moscow investigators – video

The driver of a snow plough that collided with the aircraft carrying Total CEO boss Christophe de Margerie was drunk, say Russian investigators

Driver involved in runway death of Total boss was drunk, say Moscow investigators – video
George Osborne: 'Double dose of good economic news' on inflation and pensions - video

Chancellor George Osborne welcomes a 'double dose of good economic news' on inflation and pensions

George Osborne: 'Double dose of good economic news' on inflation and pensions - video
Tesco makes £250m profit error, says CEO Dave Lewis – video

Dave Lewis, the new CEO of Tesco, confirms he has launched an investigation after it was revealed that the company's half-year profits had been overestimated

Tesco makes £250m profit error, says CEO Dave Lewis – video
Malaysia Airlines announces 6,000 job cuts after MH370 and MH17 disasters – video

Azman Mokhtar, the managing director of Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian state fund that owns a majority stake in Malaysia Airlines, announces that 6,000 jobs are to be cut

Malaysia Airlines announces 6,000 job cuts after MH370 and MH17 disasters – video
Russia shuts down four McDonald's restaurants - video

Russia has shut down four McDonald's restaurants in Moscow over alleged sanitary violations

Russia shuts down four McDonald's restaurants - video
Didcot power station cooling towers demolished - video

Three cooling towers at the disused Didcot A power Station in Oxfordshire are demolished on Sunday morning

Didcot power station cooling towers demolished - video
How does Nando's avoid paying tax in the UK? - video

Behind the simplicity of Nando's menu lies a complex offshore network of money to many major offshore locations

How does Nando's avoid paying tax in the UK? - video
Bank of England governor: shift from responsible to risky mortgage lending can't happen - video

Mark Carney says draconian measures won't be imposed to cool housing market unless house prices rise by more than 20% over next three years

Bank of England governor: shift from responsible to risky mortgage lending can't happen - video
ECB introduces negative interest rates - video

The ECB has introduced a negative deposit rate for the first time, in response to a slowdown in inflation

ECB introduces negative interest rates - video
AstraZeneca: government keeping options open, says Vince Cable – video

Business secretary Vince Cable says the government is monitoring what is happening after AstraZeneca rejects a further takeover bid by US drugs giant Pfizer

AstraZeneca: government keeping options open, says Vince Cable – video
E.ON boss: I am devastated over mis-selling – video

Tony Cocker, chief executive of E.ON, says he is sorry for the mis-selling which led regulator Ofgem to fine the energy company £12m

E.ON boss: I am devastated over mis-selling – video

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