The latest public policy intervention to support R&D and start-ups through the worst of the Covid-19 crisis is right. Some will complain the government is slow to react and lags behind Germany.

One could barely believe the reports when the May price for West Texas crude oil dipped into negative territory late on Monday. The immediate thought was: does this mean free petrol for my car?

Richard Branson has touched a raw nerve with his £500m bailout request for Virgin Atlantic. He is portrayed as living the high life in the Caribbean with a reputation for treating women carelessly.

Damage done to Britain's prosperity by the severity of the lockdown is terrifying. It has not been made any easier by the wilful destruction of the country's smaller enterprises.

The scale of the task was outlined by Paul Johnson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies this week when he projected a deficit of £260 billion this year.

To make matters easier for the lenders, the Bank of England has already released counter-cyclical buffers to prepare for current loan demand.

A survey based on firms across the advanced world and emerging markets found Covid-19 is creating unprecedented stress with likely falls of 25 per cent in revenues, soaring debt levels and bankruptcies.

When the coronavirus became an issue early this year there was much loose talk about it being no more than a cold. Similarly, it was easy to regard the economic impact as transitory.

For everyone managing a pension or investment fund, Shell's decision to slash its dividend by two-thirds and suspend promised share buybacks will be a profound shock.

What Britain's fight against coronavirus has shown is the monolithic approach of Public Health England at the outset of the crisis was a terrible error, which frustrated the medical research community.

Blackwell has again come to the fore after the Treasury is understood to have been exasperated at Lloyds' lacklustre embrace of the Coronavirus Interruption Loan Scheme.

When Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party were proposing to go on a spending spree ahead of last December's general election there was much talk of a magic money tree.

ALEX BRUMMER: In spite of best government efforts the nation is heading for a slump, a surge of insolvencies and levels of unemployment almost certainly not seen in our lifetimes. Action is needed.

ITV's chief exec Carolyn McCall has done the right things to limit the scarring. Some 800 workers have been furloughed, the dividend and executive pay have been cut and costs severely pruned.

By unhappy coincidence, the anniversary of the most rapturous day in British history, victory in the war against Nazi evil, comes amid a dismal historic message from the Bank of England.

As a nation in lockdown commemorated VE-Day, here is something to ponder. In the midst of the War, policymakers in Britain and around the world were deep in planning for the peace.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY CHRIS SUTTON: You will never find any splinters in Tim Sherwood's backside, because this is not a man for sitting on the fence.

What can DIY investors learn from the Woodford blowout for how they manage their money, keep an eye on the funds they hold, and whether an investment trust would be better option?

Colin McLean, manager of the SVM UK Opportunities fund, says that he is backing British firms with good profit margins, solid business plans and something special in their product or service.

The Chancellor was forced to admit in the Commons that the economy will SHRINK by 0.1 per cent this year, forcing him to announced the Office for Budget Responsibility has predicted the economy will shrink this year by 0.1 per cent, down from the 0.8 per cent growth forecast just nine months ago.

Chancellors can never resist the opportunity to fiddle with pension rules. George Osborne has joined the club, pushed by the determination of the LibDems to be nasty to rich people.

Experts had claimed that the lifetime limit could be capped at £100,000 – a figure that seasoned savers may have already reached - but that has not transpired.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that pensioners will get the chance to boost their incomes in a six month window between October 2015 and April 2016.

Oil price decline provides a key backcloth to the budget. It will keep downward pressure on inflation, and offers the prospect that the decline in real earnings could start to be reversed.

The big omissions from a Budget or an Autumn Statement are always revealing. It used to be help for savers. This week the missing element was the squeezed middle. Not households, but firms.

The Chancellor has pledged to eliminate the record deficit racked up by Labour during the financial crisis and return the country to the black by the end of the decade.

Part-time students have been handed some good news in today's Autumn Statement with access to maintenance loans to help with living costs during their studies from 2017/18.

Defying Brexit doomsayers, the deficit came in at £4.3billion in October - below the £6billion expected. The figures emerged on the eve of Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement.

The analysis, reaction and charts from the experts and our own journalists from throughout the day.

In its five-year forecast the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts net migration will only fall slightly as the UK adopts a tighter migration regime. Net migration is currently 327,000 a year.

MPs have voiced deep scepticism after the Office for Budget Responsibility delivered a series of dire forecasts about the impact of Brexit.

The announcement does mean there will be two full Budgets next year, in the spring and the autumn, as the new schedule rolls out.

While the OBR's chairman Robert Chote admitted there is a 50 per cent chance that the forecast is 'too gloomy', he is standing by his forecast saying predictions were made based on existing trends.

Few can defend the way that letting agents hit tenants with rip-off administrative fees. These firms cash in every time someone rents a new home, writes DAN HYDE.

Until yesterday, Chancellor Philip Hammond was among the most dismal of doom-mongers. But as he delivered his Autumn Statement, he seemed transformed.

The new Chancellor Philip Hammond forecasts that Britain’s economy will continue to grow and create new jobs in every year to the end of this Parliament, says ALEX BRUMMER.

Philip Hammond said UK output would grow faster than in most EU countries, creating half a million jobs. He vowed to spend billions to boost productivity, build homes and improve transport.

The Chancellor said the government was treating the estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as a 'signal' of what might happen.

Everton are looking to sign Joe Gelhardt from Wigan Athletic according to The Sun, the 17-year-old who has been dubbed 'the next Wayne Rooney.' 

Avios points are effectively the currency of British Airways. You can accumulate them with your everyday spending, and exchange them for first class flights. But how much are they worth?

Flight prices for Antigua and Brazil have seen some of the largest falls this summer, a new report has revealed - while Kiev has also seen a fall, and a boom in interest, thanks to 'dark tourism.'

In the race to be named the most popular family package holiday destination, Tenerife has come out on top for the second year running, according to TravelSupermarket.

Oliver, from London, was shocked to find that his bank account and overdraft had been completely wiped out after the holiday booking site mistakenly took thousands of pounds without warning.

With political rows and the on-off threat of a no-deal Brexit, there's no guarantee what could happen to the pound between now and 31 October - or after that date.

A Travelex customer left almost £590 out of pocket after the travel money provider couldn't complete his order has described an attempt to fob him off with £30 of compensation as 'ridiculous'.

The Foreign Office had previously advised against all non-essential global travel until April 16. This meant holidaymakers booked for travel before that date were legally entitled to claim refunds

The actor, 51, revealed he's been secretly battling stage four tonsil cancer, and shared his delight over completing his treatment by ringing a bell in hospital in a clip posted to Twitter on Monday.

Rates of skin cancer were 8.1 - 8.4 per cent among gay and bisexual men compared to 6.7 for straight men in a group of more than 45,000 Americans.

The 24-year-old Sydneysider lashed out in his second round clash with Italian number 12 seed Fabio Fognini.

Up to 20 Greek supporters were ejected from Melbourne Park for disruptive behaviour following Greece's Maria Sakkari's match against Japanese player Nao Hibino on Court 8.