The construction sector returned to growth in February but failed to offset fears over the pace of the economic recovery in the first three months of the year.

The construction sector returned to growth in February but failed to offset fears over the pace of the economic recovery in the first three months of the year.

A surprise jump in factory output today boosted hopes of a trading revival within Britain's under-pressure manufacturing sector.

Inflation expectations have risen to a three-year high, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Bank of England. The median public inflation expectation for the next 12 months rose to 4.2 per cent, compared with 3.9 per cent in the previous poll in May.

A new British horror movie casts Ray and Jaime Winstone together in a film for the first time. On set in Wales, they reveal the secrets of the family profession to Charlotte Cripps

The manufacturing sector expanded at a record pace last month, offering some hope for the otherwise sluggish economy, but rising factory costs highlighted the threat posed by growing inflationary pressures, according to a new survey published yesterday.

The ghost of Alan Clarke's Scum makes its presence felt in this lowering tale of a youth correctional facility in the American Midwest.

Can you judge a book by its epigraph? That you do is surely true, since at the point when you turn that particular page of a new novel it's pretty much all you've got to go on. Yes – the book's cover will have started work on you already, but you know that to be the creation of the marketing department. It's inadmissible as evidence of literary intent. But now, here, you are for the first time in the presence of the author and you are entitled to weigh up what you've been given. That you are expected to judge a book by its epigraph is also true, since it would hardly be there otherwise. You know perfectly well that it has designs on your judgement. It would be impolite to brush past without a nod in its direction, even if you suspect that it stands at the door like a spin-doctor, trying to tilt the verdict in the right direction.

Retail Sales rose slightly more than forecast last month, with stronger demand at fashion chains and department stores offsetting a flat performance in food sales.

Is Anil Agarwal, the billionaire owner of mining giant Vedanta Resources, running scared? Survival International, the campaigning charity that has had Vedanta in its sights for some time, claims Agarwal pulled out of a conference at London Business School just because it announced it was intending to picket the event. The Vedanta boss withdrew only two days after Survival revealed its intentions, the charity points out.