Record levels of public borrowing set to rise further, economists warn
Public borrowing is at its highest since records began but economists are warning that "dreadful" levels of government borrowing are set to escalate further as the economy lurches towards recession.
The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing came in higher than expected at £8.1bn,... [continued]
The Business Pages: All the latest on the financial crisis 
GM, Ford, Chrysler: a nationalisation too far?
Slump ‘sets in for three years’
The economy is already in recession and will not recover from the financial turmoil until 2011, according to the influential economic thinktank, the Ernst & Young Item Club. Its report due out
this week will predict that consumer spending will collapse by the end of the year while another 500,000... [continued]
Renationalisation can cure other British failures
The Business Pages: All the latest on the financial crisis
Powell backs ‘inspirational’ Obama
Colin Powell, President Bush's former Secretary of State, dealt a major blow to the Republican campaign yesterday by backing the Democratic candidate Barack Obama, endorsing him as a
"transformational figure" who is ready to be the next Commander-in-Chief. Powell, who was once tipped to become America's first black President,... [continued]
US Election 2008: Letterman scores hit with Gordon Liddy attack
Alexander Cockburn: Where is Ralph Nader when we need him?
In pictures: US economic woes
US Election 2008: Powell endorses Obama: racial or political?
Hutton hints at Iraq withdrawal
The new Defence Secretary John Hutton has said that Britain's role in Iraq is likely to undergo a "fundamental change" early next year, hinting that the start of 2009 could see more British troops
leave the country. Speaking after talks with the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad,... [continued]
Alexander Cockburn: the knives are out for al-Maliki
Mandelson wants to privatise post
Peter Mandelson has revealed that he is in favour of partially privatising Royal Mail. The new Business Secretary said in an interview yesterday that he had wanted Royal Mail "to be progressively
private, even if if initially part of the company stayed in the Government's hands" when he was first... [continued]
The Mole: Tory jitters as YouGov poll hints at hung Parliament
How Guyana brought out the bully in Mandelson
In pictures: Mandelson's comeback
China growth rates fall
China's growth rates have fallen to single digits for the first time in five years, shattering hopes that the country's growth would keep the world economy moving despite the financial crisis in the
West. The National Bureau of Statistics said the economy had grown at a rate of nine... [continued]
The Business Pages: All the latest on the financial crisis
Alert stokes Kim Jong-il rumours
Reports that North Korea has ordered its diplomats to remain on standby for "an important message" has renewed speculation over the health of the nation's leader Kim Jong-il. Yesterday the highly
respected Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Toyko reported that North Korea had issued an order that embassy staff... [continued]
North Korea: beyond 'the hermit state'
In pictures: Inside North Korea
