Economics

J.P. Morgan Asset Management's chief markets strategist - former BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders - forecasts better times ahead for global markets in 2014.

Economic thinktank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has forecast the economy will grow by 1.4% this year.

The UK will be the fastest-growing Western economy next year, according to a survey by accountancy firm Grant Thornton.

Fidelity Worldwide Investments' global CIO for equities, Dominic Rossi, has predicted the FTSE 100 will test a new high as accommodative central banks keep monetary policy loose and rates low into 2014.

The future of the UK economy may not be as bright as some have predicted, with the weakest recovery in 'industrial history' limiting annual growth to 1% in the longer term, according to a thinktank.

UK

The French economy has officially entered its third recession in four years after shrinking in the first quarter of 2013, data released today has revealed.

The UK is experiencing a slower economic recovery than 23 of the 33 advanced economies monitored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to analysis.

The UK's stagnating economy avoided a triple-dip recession today after initial estimates showed it expanded 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013.

Sir Mervyn King, the outgoing Governor of the Bank of England, has written to a small business owner to offer his sympathies after the man's own bank refused him a loan.