UK retail sales drop unexpectedly as shoppers await Black Friday and budget

Supermarkets, clothing stores and online mail order firms suffer sales declines as consumers delay purchases

AI bubble fears return as Wall Street falls back from short-lived rally

Leading US stock markets tumble less than 24 hours after strong results from chipmaker Nvidia sparked gains

US economy added more jobs than forecast in September, after shock losses in August – as it happened

US non-farm payrolls rose by 119,000 in September, but new data also shows economy shed jobs in August

US added 119,000 jobs in September in report delayed by federal shutdown

Unemployment rate hits 4.4%, its highest level since 2021, and government has said no October report will be issued

What does the left want? A wealth tax. What will that accomplish? Very little

Imposing a 1% levy on the super-rich isn’t a policy, it’s pantomime. Tackling inequality in Britain will require much more far-reaching changes, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

Nvidia earnings: Wall Street sighs with relief after AI wave doesn’t crash

Amid a blackout of data due to the government shutdown, the $5tn chipmaker’s report took on wider significance

UK inflation dips to 3.6% despite accelerating food price growth – as it happened

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be keeping a close eye on inflation data ahead of her autumn budget, due next Wednesday.

UK inflation eases for first time in five months to 3.6% before crunch budget

Drop in October’s annual rate raises hopes of interest rate cut after Rachel Reeves’s tax and spending statement

Fall in UK inflation looks like turning point that heralds interest rate cut

Rachel Reeves hints there will be budget measures to push down prices and Bank of England is likely to act

FTSE 100 in biggest drop since April as stock market sell-off continues – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as shares fall across Asia and bitcoin hits a seven-month low

Bond markets could force Rachel Reeves ‘to do a secondary budget’, City investor warns

David Zahn of Franklin Templeton said bond yields could rise in response to chancellor’s fiscal plans and government would have to react

Japan and Switzerland’s economies contract as US tariffs hit exports; Alphabet shares jump after Warren Buffett reveals stake – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

UK watchdogs need to step in on rip-off bills, which are bad for consumers and the economy

From mobiles to insurance and subscriptions, firms are able to exploit the fact they know more than customers

‘I think the city is falling apart’: Leicester braces for a make-or-break budget

In the local authority where people have the least spare cash there are hopes the chancellor will instil change

UK budget watchdog in danger of strangling economic growth, says TUC boss

Paul Nowak says OBR should be modernised to ditch ‘hardwired’ support for austerity economics