Recession

The UK is not heading towards a triple dip recession, the Treasury chief secretary has said.

The risk a triple-dip recession could hit people's finances is a big worry to about a quarter of consumers, research from the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) has revealed.

Workers approaching retirement could be hit by significantly weaker annuity rates as the eurozone's economy enters a technical recession, an adviser group has warned.

The double-dip recession which has plagued the UK for the first half of 2012 should officially end later this week, economists are predicting, as the impact of the Olympics and the Jubilee kick-in.

The UK will return to growth in the second half of the year fuelled by consumer spending power despite exports continuing to disappoint, according to Ernst & Young's latest forecast.

The UK economy is in "a very deep crisis" and it is difficult to predict when it will recover, according to Business secretary Vince Cable.

The US economy grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter, compounding fears the world's largest economy could be heading back into recession, the latest data has revealed.

UK GDP growth has been revised slightly upwards to a contraction of 0.4% in Q2, according to the final estimate from the Office of National Statistics.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King has called the end of the recession in the UK and pointed to signs of growth returning to the economy.

Official GDP figures for the second quarter will be revised later today after better-than expected construction and industrial production figures.