Helia Ebrahimi , Economics Correspondent

US stock markets are continuing to fall, ending a week which has seen the biggest global sell-off of shares for six years. And there have been losses across Europe’s stock exchanges too, including London, where the FTSE index of leading shares closed half a per cent lower. So when will the volatility calm down?

What goes up must come down, and there’s been another tumultuous day on markets around the world, with frantic trading following two days of heavy losses. On Wall Street, prices briefly rebounded before taking another tumble, while in London the FTSE ended the day almost 200 points lower. It’s all been fuelled by concern over…

Regulators and government officials are holding urgent talks on the huge construction group Carillion  and its half billion pound pensions deficit. The firm, which holds major outsourced government contracts, including the HS2 high-speed rail link, is struggling to avoid collapse. Unions are urging the government to step in and protect the thousands of jobs which…

Christmas on the high street has been very much a case of winner takes it all. Sainsbury’s today, like other big supermarkets, reported a rise in sales. Cash-strapped consumers seem to have spent what money they do have on food and drink. But some of the general retailers have seen a big drop in spending.…

Until a few days ago, you might have been kicking yourself for not investing in Bitcoin this year. The value of the cyber currency had soared since January. But now Bitcoin has gone into freefall, with the price tumbling even further in the last few hours. So has it finally run out of steam?

Bitcoin: it’s the crypto-currency which has no physical manifestation, but which has spectacularly soared in price over the last year. It’s brought vast wealth to a few individuals, just a thousand people are thought to own 40% of the entire market. It’s got a bad reputation too, described variously as a massive scam, a dangerous…

The financial watchdog has revealed four advice firms have now stopped carrying out pension transfers for British Steel pension scheme members after concern over the sustainability of their advice. Six more firms will be investigated by the FCA this week.

Steel workers in south Wales have attacked what they say has been aggressive advice over their pensions, which they say could cost each of them thousands. Their pension scheme was closed when the owners of the steel works in Port Talbot, Tata Steel, cut a deal with the government to keep the plant open last…

Our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi explains what the next phase of Brexit negotiations will involve.

Productivity – how much we make, divided by how long it takes us to make it. Our inability to make more in less time is what lies behind the latest grim productivity forecasts. Everyone agrees something must be done, but no one seems that clear what the problem is. And there are some out there…

Why has the economy failed to deliver for the Chancellor? And what are the implications for tax and spend?

Our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi has gone to one of the areas of lowest productivity in the UK to examine what’s going on.

Britain’s housing market is broken – and the Prime Minister is making it her personal mission to fix it. That was the message from Theresa May today as her Communities Secretary said the lack of affordable houses risks creating a “rootless generation”.

There’s been an unexpected pause in inflation. Instead of going up again, it has remained steady at 3%. Although food prices have risen, that’s been offset by a fall in the cost of fuel. But prices are still outstripping wages and the economic squeeze here is in sharp contrast with continental Europe, which reported strong…

Human rights concerns? Not part of my job. That’s according to the financial regulator who’s deciding whether to change the rules, potentially allowing oil giant Saudi Aramco to float on the London Stock Exchange. But Andrew Bailey of the Financial Conduct Authority told MPs that he had met the Saudi firm’s Finance Director earlier this year.…