Economic crisis: special report

Average household debt has doubled in a decade despite low interest rates, says the Centre for Social Justice, with total UK debt rising to a peak of £1.4tn.

RBS CEO Ross McEwan tells Siobhan Kennedy his bank has shown over the last five years an “absolute ability” to shed its toxic loans and sell them to other people. “That’s a skill we have,” he says.

George Osborne outlines the “help to work” programme and his hope to freeze fuel duty, but tells the Conservative party conference the battle to turn Britain around “is not even close to being over”.

On Sunday Angela Merkel attempts to win a third term as her country’s leader. With much of Europe facing economic turmoil, the continent is looking to “Mutti” – mother – to lead it through the crisis.

New Nationwide figures show that house prices are continuing to rise and the British Chambers of Commerce raises its GDP estimate, amid claims that economic growth is gaining pace.

In his first major move since taking the helm at the Bank of England, new governor Mark Carney announces that interest rates will not be increased until unemployment drops below seven per cent.

Mark Carney tells Channel 4 News the Bank of England has sympathy for suffering savers, as he announces interest rates will be kept at record lows for years to come to help the economic recovery.

Lloyds Banking Group is “back in the black” as it posts profits of £2.1bn for the first half of 2013 – sparking a surge in share price and expectations of a government sale of its stake in the bank.

Shares fall in banking giant Barclays after it announces a larger than expected cash call, in which it will seek £5.8bn from its investors.

The City regulator says Britain’s banks still need to raise £27bn to withstand future shocks. Worst off is the taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland, which is told it has a gap of £13.6bn to plug.

Nick Clegg and David Cameron vow the coalition will remain united until the 2015 general election – as the deputy prime minister attacks Tory backbenchers for “game-playing”.

Relief for Chancellor George Osborne as the UK economy records 0.3 per cent growth for the first quarter of 2013 – but the underlying picture of a sluggish economy remains.

A plan to sell more than 600 branches of part-nationalised Lloyds to the Co-op for £750m falls through, as the buyer says the economic climate is too poor.

Zombies have moved from the realms of niche low-fi horror to mainstream popular culture. But why do they rise in times of economic difficulty? Channel 4 News delves into the world of the living dead.

The chancellor will not win any popularity contests. But ahead of next week’s budget, Michael Crick asks if George Osborne is the man to bring life to the UK’s near-moribund economy.