France has a massive debt crisis. So why is it spending billions a year subsidising business?

The government is on the brink of collapse over planned austerity. Instead it must face up to the costs of its unnecessarily rigid labour market, says Guardian Europe columnist Alexander Hurst

Starmer seeks to wrest back policy control from Treasury in No 10 shake-up

Prime minister brings in chancellor’s deputy and former Bank of England chief to newly created senior roles

Reshuffle gymnastics prepare Starmer to walk tricky budget tightrope

Economists say new team could help push back against Treasury but PM needs to spell out what he stands for

Downing Street shake-up: who’s in and who’s out at No 10

Departures and new hires expected to give PM more direct oversight of delivery of key government priorities

Rachel Reeves is under immense pressure. She must not waste her chance to ‘go big’

Chancellor needs to reform an out-of-kilter tax system without alienating voters or spooking financial markets

‘Really transitional moment’: what should we do about declining fertility rates?

As fertility rate hits all-time low in England and Wales, is there cause for concern for the economy and services?

Chairman Trump: has the US turned its back on free-market capitalism?

Republicans once believed governments should get out of the way. Trump is making his influence felt in every corner of the American economy

Starmer names former Bank deputy governor as his chief economic adviser

Minouche Shafik quit Columbia University after controversy over anti-Israel protests on New York campus

‘Just hysteria’: UK faces a crisis but the IMF bailout talk is overblown

Despite sluggish growth and rising borrowing costs, most economists agree that Rachel Reeves doesn’t face a repeat of 1976

Treasury should tax big banks on quantitative easing windfalls, argues thinktank

IPPR says Rachel Reeves should also urge Bank to halt bond sales to reduce government losses of £22bn a year

France on the brink: how a budget deficit became a political crisis

With the government facing defeat in a confidence vote, the nation’s economic problems will still need to tackled

‘Mountain to climb’: how Labour is facing a crisis in youth unemployment

The government is adding an extra year, and an extra £45m, to its scheme in England to help people find work

Why radical tax reform may be only way for Reeves to balance the books

Size of the task remains unclear but the chancellor will have to act in the face of expected growth downgrades

UK borrowed less than expected in July in lift for Rachel Reeves

Public sector net borrowing falls to £1.1bn as chancellor explores tax-raising options in autumn budget

‘Past mistakes must be avoided’: anxiety as Labour eyes public-private funding for NHS

Decision on neighbourhood health centres expected in autumn but approach divides policy experts