Business

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption US will not review the duties on cheap Chinese goods China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation over the way the US and Europe use anti-dumping rules against it. Countries that sell exports below their cost of production – usually to …

Image copyright AFP The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has trimmed its 2016 economic growth forecast for Asia to reflect slower-than-expected expansion in India. The lender now projects that a group of 45 countries which it calls Developing Asia will grow by 5.6% this year. That is slightly lower than its …

Image copyright Getty Images The biggest rise in clothing prices in six years helped to drive the UK’s inflation rate up to 1.2% in November, up from 0.9% in October. November’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate was the highest since October 2014, when it stood at 1.3%. The Office …

Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption “So now I’ve graduated, how do I pay off all my student debts?” It’s tough being a student these days. Debt levels are reaching crisis proportions in many developed countries, the World Bank says. And in many developing countries, aspiring students can’t get finance at …

Media captionSending a postcard from Timbuktu How many handwritten letters and personal postcards did you send this year to friends and family? How many have you received? We’re in a world where billions will log on to social media and chat apps so they can communicate instantly with friends and …

Following the Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic forecasts, which accompanied the Autumn Statement, Iain Duncan Smith accused the official forecaster of “utter doom and gloom”. Is that fair? There were particular challenges in making these forecasts, which we have discussed before, involving having to make forecasts for the economy post-Brexit …

Image copyright Chris Gardner When Chris Gardner and his young son were sleeping rough on the floor of a public toilet, he could never have dreamt that his life story would be turned into a hit Hollywood movie. It was back in the early 1980s that Mr Gardner, then aged …

The claim: The cost of Christmas dinner this year will either be the cheapest ever or 14% up on last year. Reality Check verdict: The two pieces of research look into the cost of buying different things at different shops so it is no great surprise that they get different …

Image copyright Sumi Senthinathan / BBC Image caption Our illustrator Sumi Senthinathan drew this image representing the aftermath of the Brexit vote It’s been a year where the business world has not had a second to breathe. From the results of the UK’s EU referendum and the US election to …

Image copyright Svedka Image caption Swedish vodka brand Svedka used a sexy fembot in their advertising for several years When Amazon first coined the strapline “Ask Alexa” for its virtual assistant, it couldn’t have predicted the X-rated nature of some of the requests. “She” may boast an encyclopaedic knowledge, but …