Slumping High Street sales and halting progress in cutting the deficit dampened hopes of green shoots for the British economy today.

The population of Iceland is one of the most content in the world

The Analyst

Oil giants targeted by European Commission in probe into suspected market manipulation

Outlook Royal Bank of Scotland might be through the worst, but it remains very much a work in progress. If anyone was in any doubt about that fact, the chief executive, Stephen Hester, made it clear yesterday when he told the bank's annual meeting that it could take 18 months to plug what amounts to a black hole in its balance sheet.

Scottish independence could cement the Conservative Party's hold on Westminster, according to Labour.

The Chancellor also pledged UK action on tax evasion and avoidance

This unusual attachment rather gets the Bank of England off the hook

The economic recovery is picking up speed, according to a respected economic think-tank.

There is a fine irony, is there not, in central banks buying equities? They have driven down the yields on government debt to such low levels that real yields in most major economies are now negative.

Thousands of Bank of Ireland borrowers have been hit with a massive rise in their monthly mortgage bill this month. That's despite them believing they had taken out a lifetime tracker deal.

The European Central Bank's president, Mario Draghi, slashed interest rates to a historic low yesterday as the central bank hinted at new initiatives to boost loans to small businesses and pledged to extend cheap funds to banks.

Nationwide shrugged off the first monthly fall in house prices since last September yesterday as the lender raised hopes of growing momentum in the market.