Economy

We are in the red. We owe close to two thirds of what the entire country produces in a year. And the figure is rising. Collective government debt has risen a fifth since last year, according to official sources. It now stands at £857bn, or 60% of gross output

No, UK plc is not about to go bust. In Greece, the same ratio is almost double ours (113%). In Italy, one of the eurozone's most indebted countries, it is even higher (119%). Even good old Uncle Sam is more indebted than us. The US ratio stands at 69%.

Mortgage lending increased by 6% in February to £9.3bn, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The announcement will quell the fears of those who worried that January's drop in lending marked the start of a 'double dip' for the housing market.

It now looks like the winter weather and Stamp Duty distortion did indeed cause a New Year blip that has now corrected itself.

Greece is getting impatient. Premier George Papandreou (pictured) has told reporters that IMF help hasn't been ruled out in helping his country sort out its debt crisis.

Last night there were rumours that interest on an IMF Greek loan could come in as low as 3.25% - a full1% point below a potential combined EU deal.

It really is grim up North. Scottish retailers suffered their worst February in more than a decade, reveal figures out today. In contrast, business is booming in London. Overseas visitors are flocking to the capital to take advantage of Sterling's weakness. Unfortunately, few of them made it north of the M25.

Like-for-like sales in Scotland fell 1% from February last year, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. So, what went wrong in Scotland, when things are going so well in London? Well, chiefly the stuff that often goes wrong in Scotland. Namely, dreadful weather and poor consumer confidence.

Japan is to double the amount of cheap short-term loans to banks in an effort to fight deflation and bolster an economy that's failing to grow quickly enough. The Bank of Japan move will raise around 20 trillion yen, or £146bn.

The Japanese government is desperately trying to fight deflation with core consumer prices still falling. This makes investors wary of investing further; demand simply falls away.

The 'worried well' are putting an enormous strain on the NHS by insisting on seeing a doctor for minor ailments such as coughs and colds, it has been claimed.

In a letter to The Times, a number of leading health professionals this week warned of the 'catastrophic impact' of this dependency. The letter argues that a change in public behaviour could reduce NHS costs by £10bn in five years.

US Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke (pictured) says he intends to keep interest rates at rock-bottom for as long as possible.

Rates will remain at "exceptionally low levels" the rate-setting committee has confirmed. But it is something of a mixed picture.

In an effort to cut costs Shell is pulling out from many low volume service stations and slashing at least 1,000 jobs.

But despite efforts to cut costs amongst its workers, its making sure its directors are still comfy: the oil giant has just admitted it more than doubled the pension pot - to nearly £16m - of its ex gas and power boss, Linda Cook.

A YouGov poll of young people commissioned by HSBC and the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) ahead of next week's Budget says the recession has squeezed kids and they have learnt about saving.

More than a third of the children (34%) have heard adults say they cannot buy something because of the recession more than once a week. A quarter have reduced their own spending because of the recession. This is great news. I wish I could say the same for my own kids.

Is China's economy slowing? The Telegraph reported today (see link at end of article) that the FTSE-100 benchmark index retreated yesterday, with mining stocks dragging confidence down.

China is worried about its economy overheating. There are plenty of economists already warning that China's economy looks strikingly close to that of Japan's in the late 1980s.

EU bureaucrats claim Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are not trying hard enough to bring down the UK's deficit.

The EU Commission warns that the UK won't slash its deficit in line with EU rules by 2015 - these rules state that deficits must be under 3% of GDP.

Concern about UK job security is building again. Firstly, the Bank of England has warned that fears about job insecurity are still holding back the economy.

And the Chartered Institute of personnel and Development (CIPD) has also chimed in; it says UK unemployment compares poorly with Europe - and that the UK jobless picture is probably worse than the bare stats claim.

Could new strict FSA rules be the death of mutuals? Building societies are a dying breed currently thanks to increased market consolidation and low interest rates.

However the boss of mutual MGM Advantage says new FSA rules could force many to close or merge. Assurance boss Chris Evans told the Independent that the new rules could "force many mutuals to either consider merging or closing to new business and going into run-off."

The report into the collapse of Lehman Brothers may lead to criminal cases against the investment bank's former executives, say legal experts.

Court-appointed lawyers last week published a devastating report into the 2008 Lehman bankruptcy. One result could be charges under securities fraud laws, say legal experts quoted today by Reuters.

It's thought an EU-Greece deal is almost signed off – thanks to the generosity of the Germans.

The Guardian newspaper reports a multi-billion deal is on the table. Berlin has apparently bowed to multiple pressures and its hugely resistant electorate, to a deal.