Summary

  • Get in touch: bizlivepage@bbc.co.uk

  • Dollar and Dow Jones end the day lower

  • Actress paying the Queen paid less than Prince Philip

  • Government floats idea of abolishing 1p and 2p coins

  • Chancellor signals stronger growth in Spring Statement

  • OBR revises 2018 GDP forecast upwards, from 1.4% to 1.5%

  • Government borrowing expected to decrease

  • Inflation predicted to fall 'back to target' by 2019

  • Labour warns of further austerity

  1. The 'first' Spring Statementpublished at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    The chancellorImage source, Getty Images

    Chancellor Philip Hammond is on his feet and addressing the House of Commons with "the first Spring Statement".

    He says there is no red book but looking to the opposition he says "of course I can't speak for the right honourable gentlemen" opposite.

  2. Watch: The state of the UKpublished at 12:28 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

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  3. Deficit forecast to fall to 2016 forecastpublished at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    BBC economics editor Kamal Ahmed tweets:

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  4. No red box with the Spring Statementpublished at 12:15 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Philip HammondImage source, Getty Images

    The Spring Statement is due in a few minutes. Philip Hammond's speech is expected to be short - around 15 minutes - in what will be a break with recent tradition.

    The Chancellor will not use the financial statement midway between Budgets to present a "mini-Budget" or pre-Budget report.

    The Treasury says there will be no policy announcements or tax and spending measures - they will be held back to the Budget in the autumn - and no photocall outside 11 Downing Street.

    Mr Hammond's Treasury deputy Liz Truss said there would be "no red box, no rabbits out of the hat and no tax changes".

  5. Ready, set, go!published at 12:09 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Rob Holdsworth of the Resolution Foundation is poised with his stopwatch...

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  6. DJ D-Sol mixes it up on the ones and twospublished at 11:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

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  7. GKN leads FTSE 100 riserspublished at 11:46 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    GKNImage source, GKN

    As we head towards the Spring Statement the FTSE 100 blue chip index is trading marginally lower, down 4.49 points at 7,210.27.

    GKN is leading the FTSE risers with its share price up 3.1% at 437.6p. It remains below the final bid price of 467p per share that Melrose offered on Monday to buy the engineering group.

    Insurer Direct Line is the biggest faller, down 2.1% at 384.8p.

    The FTSE 250 down 75.48 points at 20,042.05. Sandwich-making giant Greencore Group issued a profit warning on Tuesday which has sent its share price plunging by 28.15% to 131.2p.

  8. Juncker tells Eurosceptics: You'll regret Brexitpublished at 11:31 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    The UK will come to "regret" the decision to leave the EU, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warns.

    Read More
  9. Analysis: Trump and Chinapublished at 11:21 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Andrew Walker, BBC economics correspondent writes...

    Donald TrumpImage source, Reuters

    Is there a pattern emerging in President Trump's use of national security concerns as an international economic weapon?

    Perhaps, but his predecessor, Barack Obama did use the issue to block takeovers, including a technology acquisition attempted by a Chinese investment fund.

    The would-be acquirer in the current case is not Chinese, but the concern expressed by the Committee on Foreign Investment was about creating space for an increased Chinese presence in 5G wireless technology.

    Mr Trump has also invoked security concerns in slapping new tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.

    There are plenty of people who don't believe it. The EU's Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström called it a "safeguard in disguise" - a response to a surge in imports that affects a country's own industry.

    Mr Trump's willingness to grant exemptions, partly on the basis of what he sees as a fair trade relationship with the US, is consistent with the idea that it's not just about security.

  10. Looking through the figurespublished at 11:06 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, explains what to look out for in the Spring Statement:

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  11. OECD: inflation to squeeze household incomespublished at 10:54 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Vegetable market stallImage source, Getty Images

    The OECD said higher inflation in the UK would continue to squeeze household incomes.

    Weak business investment would also weigh on growth for the next two years amid uncertainty surrounding the Brexit negotiations, it said.

    It left its prediction for UK growth in 2019 unchanged at 1.1%. This would be the joint-slowest expansion alongside Japan.

    Full story here

  12. Computacenter gets German boostpublished at 10:43 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Computer cablesImage source, Getty Images

    IT provider Computacenter said annual profit jumped by more than a fifth last year.

    It said strong growth in Germany offset falling profit at the firm.

    Chief Mike Norris said: "The UK business should return to operating profit growth in 2018."

    However its shares have slumped more than 8% this morning.

    Pre-tax profit for 2017 climbed 22.9% to a record £106.2m.

    The annual dividend was increased by 17.6% to 26.1p a share.

  13. Ins and outs - what it says about our tastespublished at 10:32 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    BBC personal finance reporter Kevin Peachey tweets...

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  14. VW boss trousered £9m last yearpublished at 10:23 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Matthias MuellerImage source, Getty Images

    Volkswagen chief Matthias Mueller's salary package climbed by about 40% last year, to €10.14m (£9m) in pay and benefits, the company revealed this morning.

    A year ago, Europe's largest carmaker introduced new compensation rules for managers in response to investor criticism over big bonuses paid to executives in the wake of its 2015 "dieselgate" emissions scandal.

    The 64-year-old's contract expires in 2020.

  15. Volkswagen expands production of electric vehiclespublished at 10:16 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Volkswagen electric carImage source, Volkswagen

    Motoring giant Volkswagen said it will produce battery-powered vehicles at 16 locations across the world by 2022, up from just three at present.

    It said partnerships with battery manufacturers for Europe and China have already been agreed.

    But chief executive Matthias Müller said the company was still commited to conventional cars.

    He said: “We are making massive investments in the mobility of tomorrow, but without neglecting current technologies and vehicles that will continue to play an important role for decades to come.”

  16. Lager out, but only if bought in nightclubspublished at 10:04 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Man asleep next to lagerImage source, Getty Images

    'Lager bought in nightclubs' has been removed as a category from the ONS inflation basket to reflect the fall in the number of nightclubs.

    It's not a suggestion that less lager is being drunk.

    Meanwhile leg waxing, pork pies, Edam cheese and ATM charges has been removed because "it is judged that price changes for these items remain adequately represented by others that remain in the basket".

  17. UK economy to grow but weakest in G20published at 10:00 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Union Jack flagImage source, Getty Images

    The UK economy will grow at a slower pace than any other major advanced or emerging nation this year, according to the OECD.

    Ahead of the spring statement, the think-tank raised its UK growth forecast to 1.3% in 2018 amid a strengthening global recovery.

    This is up from a November projection of 1.2%, but the weakest in the G20.

    The OECD predicts the fastest world growth since 2011 this year, helped by US tax cuts and spending in Germany.

  18. Raspberries replace stoned fruitspublished at 09:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Raspberry on a fingerImage source, Getty Images

    Looking at fruits, raspberries have been added to the ONS inflation basket at the expense of peaches and nectarines.

    Why? "To improve coverage of soft fruits with an offsetting reduction in the number of stoned fruits," the ONS explains.

  19. High chairs mark return to inflation basketpublished at 09:49 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Baby in a high chairImage source, Getty Images

    High chairs are another notable addition to the 2018 ONS inflation basket.

    Nursery furniture has been absent from the basket since 1999 when cots were removed.

    High chairs are added to the 'other furniture and furnishing' subclass, the only other member of which is a mirror.

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  20. Prepared mash back in inflation basket - after 30 yearspublished at 09:42 Greenwich Mean Time 13 March 2018

    Prepared mashed potatoes have returned to the ONS inflation basket some 30 years after dried mashed potato such as Smash! was pushed out.

    They join frozen chips, which are already in the basket.