British lenders approved the fewest mortgages in nearly two years last month as the UK housing market continued to slow after June’s vote to leave the EU, raising the chance of an outright fall in prices next year.

Eurozone business activity expanded at its weakest rate since the start of 2015 this month, as growth paths diverged but firms stopped cutting prices for the first time in a year, surveys showed yesterday.

Germany’s economy more than doubled its expansion rate in the first quarter as spending picked up, cementing its role as the growth engine for the region, while Italy’s economy expanded in the first quarter but still posted a record high government debt.

The eurozone’s inflation rate held steady in August, highlighting the challenge facing the ECB as it seeks to revive consumer-price growth.

The eurozone returned to inflation in May with a higher- than-expected increase in consumer prices after five months of falls and stagnation, due to rising food costs and the waning impact of cheap energy.

Price discounting drove growth in all of the eurozone’s major economies in March, helping business activity increase at its fastest rate for nearly a year, a survey showed yesterday.

Eurozone consumer prices fell again in March, as expected, but the decline was the smallest this year, indicating the price of goods and services could start rising again soon.

British manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in January as computer and electronics production plunged.

A gauge of euro-area services and manufacturing signaled economic growth slowed in the final quarter of 2014, supporting calls for more stimulus by the European Central Bank.

The Bank of England left interest rates on hold today as the timing of a first hike which had once been expected this year recedes into 2015.

Inflation in the eurozone edged up slightly in October, reinforcing the view that the ECB will hold fire on any additional policy action at its meeting next week.

Inflation in the UK is expected to remain below the Bank of England’s 2% target when official figures for August are published tomorrow.

The UK’s trade gap unexpectedly widened in June to fuel concerns about the impact that the strong pound is having on the price of British goods abroad.

Eurozone retail sales rose at the fastest rate in seven years in June — and twice as fast as expected — thanks to strong sales of both food and non-food products, according to data published yesterday.

Eurozone manufacturing and services activity strengthened in a sign of confidence that fresh stimulus by the ECB will consolidate a fledgling economic recovery.

Eurozone interest rates are expected to be slashed again tomorrow as part of a package of radical measures to breathe new life into the moribund economy.

The unemployment rate across the eurozone remained at a near-record 12% in January and inflation was stable at a low level, according to official data released today.

Economic growth across the eurozone was stronger-than-expected at the end of 2013, according to official figures, raising hopes the recovery is gaining a foothold.

The Bank of England will hold interest rates at record lows once more tomorrow, amid speculation it will have to change the threshold for considering a hike in the cost of borrowing within months.

Eurozone inflation slowed in December, retreating farther from the European Central Bank’s ceiling as the 18-nation currency bloc struggled to strengthen its recovery from a record-long recession.

GLOBAL manufacturing ended 2013 on a strong note, as major exporters like the US, Japan, and Germany all saw demand pick up, although China’s performance remained modest, surveys showed yesterday.

Record weekly sales at John Lewis have raised hopes of a bumper end to the Christmas shopping period but there are fears that the UK's retail sector could be left with a profits hangover after heavy discounting.

Inflation fell to its lowest level in the UK for more than a year in October, plunging to 2.2%, official figures showed today.

Britain's dominant services sector grew at its fastest pace for 16 years in the third quarter of the year, fuelling hopes that the overall economy will have performed better than already-buoyant expectations.

Any hopes that the troubled eurozone economy was poised for a solid rebound from recession were under threat of being dashed today by latest figures showing the industrial sector sliding into reverse during July.

Eurozone factory output expanded at a faster pace than initially estimated in August, driven by a resurgence in Italy and Spain, as the 17-nation currency bloc’s recovery began to build momentum.

Britain exported a record £78.4bn of goods between April and June thanks to surging demand from countries outside Europe in the latest sign that the recovery is taking hold.

The Bank of England left interest rates unchanged today as it kept the City waiting on fresh measures to stimulate the recovery.

The Bank of England is expected to keep the City waiting on fresh measures to stimulate the economy when it holds its latest interest rate meeting tomorrow.

The Bank of England is expected to keep the City waiting on much-anticipated measures to lift the economy out of the doldrums when it holds its latest interest rate meeting on Thursday.

Department store discounts in the UK drove another rise in retail sales volumes in June, boosting hopes for overall growth figures due out next week, official figures showed today.

British housebuilders and mortgage lenders called for more clarity on how the government will wind down a support scheme for struggling housebuyers which has boosted developers’ profit forecasts amid fears of a new property bubble.

Bank of England policymakers will decide tomorrow whether to inject billions more pounds of stimulus into the UK economy or to hold off amid tentative signs of a recovery.

House building activity in Britain fell at its fastest rate for two years last month as construction firms battled persistent rain, figures revealed today.

Bank of England policymakers are unlikely to deliver an early Christmas present to the economy today despite warnings that output could shrink again in the final three months of the year.

British interest rates are unlikely to be cut below their historic lows, but Bank of England policymakers have left the door open for more cash to be pumped into the UK economy, a report revealed today.

House prices in the UK edged 0.7% lower month-on-month in October as the weak economy continued to dampen demand, Halifax said today.

Doubts over the strength of the UK’s recovery persisted today despite figures showing an end to the longest double-dip recession since 1950.

Manufacturers in the UK saw output reach its lowest level in three years this month as companies became increasingly concerned by political and economic problems abroad, a survey said.

Britain is facing a "feeble and fragile" recovery, experts warned today ahead of figures expected to confirm the economy has exited the longest double-dip recession since the 1950s.

House prices in the UK were 2% higher than a year ago in July as the strength of the London property market outweighed declines elsewhere in the UK.

Official figures have today revealed the strongest monthly rise in British manufacturing output for 10 years.