Looking back on the stories which made the business headlines in 2013
*It is Alice in Wongaland – the UK economy is coasting on easy money, its growth propelled by shopping sprees and property prices, the economist Ann Pettifor warned this summer. It was a phrase that struck a chord in a year when many things were not quite what they seemed.*
**The vanishing triple dip **
The government was braced for an unprecedented triple-dip recession in the spring, but by the summer even the double-dip recession of 2011-12 had been erased from history by statistical updates. Growth accelerated, unemployment dropped sharply and some newspapers cheered "boom boom Britain". But many economists saw little to celebrate in a recovery driven by consumer spending and a galloping housing market in the south, rather than a German-style industrial renaissance. While the chancellor boasted of upward revisions to growth forecasts, the economy remains 2.5% smaller than it was at its pre-recession peak.
**The zero-hours contract **
No guaranteed hours, shifts cancelled at short notice: surely a contract fit for Wongaland? In the summer the Guardian reported that scores of employers, from Sports Direct to Buckingham Palace, were using zero-hours contracts. As many as 1m people could be on the controversial terms, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, far more than previously thought. Business secretary Vince Cable ruled out a complete ban on zero hours contracts, saying that employers and workers alike valued their flexibility. But he has launched a review of the contracts and has pledged to clamp down on "unfair" provisions that tie people on zero-hours contracts to one employer.
**Horsemeat lasagne **
When Irish food inspectors discovered horse DNA in beefburgers sold by British supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Aldi, they smashed open a massive food fraud scandal. Soon, mislabelled products were being uncovered across Europe, from Ikea meatballs to a Findus beef lasagne with 100% horse meat wrapped up in the pasta and white sauce. As well as exposing how criminal networks had infiltrated the food chain, the scandal provoked a grovelling apology from Tesco to its customers. But MPs have criticised the slow pace of investigations.
**Royal Mail's rocketing shares**
Royal Mail shares, sold by the government at 330p on 15 October, are now touching 600p. The sale of the 497-year old postal service – the biggest privatisation since John Major offloaded the railways 20 years ago – left retail investors and hedge funds alike scrambling for a piece of the action. The government insists the rocketing growth in the share price is nothing to worry about. Just "froth and speculation" said Cable. But as Royal Mail sailed into the FTSE 100 index of leading companies this month, with half-year profits up almost 150%, critics were convinced it was sold too cheaply.
**Hester's exit**
The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, Stephen Hester, was forced out in June. It came a month after he said he was ready to see through his "mission" to return RBS to the private sector after its £45bn taxpayer bailout. The government had a different view. The task of returning RBS to the private sector will now be overseen by a low-profile New Zealander, Ross McEwan, who had joined RBS in 2012 to run the bank's high-street branches.
**Co-op implodes**
Customers disillusioned with the big banks could always turn to the Co-op's ethical alternative, right? In October the movement lost control of its bank to New York hedge funds, in a bid to plug a £1.5bn capital shortfall. It was a spectacular reversal of fortunes for the sensible bank that had been the government's favourite to take over 631 branches owned by Lloyds. Customer worry and anger about what the hedge funds would do with the bank's ethical investment policy turned to incredulity when allegations emerged that the bank's former chairman had been filmed apparently buying class-A drugs.
**Energy bills**
At least the energy companies gave the banks a run for their money in the contest to be Britain's least favourite sector. The big six firms were accused by the energy minister of treating their customers as cash cows, after the firms announced inflation-busting increases to customer bills. The leader of the Labour party, Ed Miliband changed the political game with his pledge to freeze energy bills, prompting a panicky reaction from the coalition government to roll back green costs, a move that knocks £50 off the average household bill. But energy bosses warned MPs that prices were certain to rise again.
**Billionaires' row**
A Kensington broom cupboard available for £150,000; gazumping tales; tears at packed-out house viewings: in 2013 the housing boom was back. At least, it was in London, where average property prices rose 12% in the first 10 months of the year, compared with 5.5% in the rest of the country. The lift-off was stoked by foreign investors looking for racy assets and the government's Help to Buy mortgage subsidy scheme, described by one City commentator as a moronic idea.
**Amazon's tax bill **
Amazon became the latest multinational corporation to come under the parliamentary microscope after it was revealed that the company's UK subsidiary paid £2.4m in corporate taxes in 2012, despite making £4.3bn sales in the country. It was another internet giant, Google, that was accused of "doing evil" by the chair of the public accounts committee, Margaret Hodge, but the MP also urged a boycott of Amazon. To no avail. Amazon UK was selling 47 items every second at peak times during the traditional shopping blitz in the runup to Christmas. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
*It is Alice in Wongaland – the UK economy is coasting on easy money, its growth propelled by shopping sprees and property prices, the economist Ann Pettifor warned this summer. It was a phrase that struck a chord in a year when many things were not quite what they seemed.*
**The vanishing triple dip **
The government was braced for an unprecedented triple-dip recession in the spring, but by the summer even the double-dip recession of 2011-12 had been erased from history by statistical updates. Growth accelerated, unemployment dropped sharply and some newspapers cheered "boom boom Britain". But many economists saw little to celebrate in a recovery driven by consumer spending and a galloping housing market in the south, rather than a German-style industrial renaissance. While the chancellor boasted of upward revisions to growth forecasts, the economy remains 2.5% smaller than it was at its pre-recession peak.
**The zero-hours contract **
No guaranteed hours, shifts cancelled at short notice: surely a contract fit for Wongaland? In the summer the Guardian reported that scores of employers, from Sports Direct to Buckingham Palace, were using zero-hours contracts. As many as 1m people could be on the controversial terms, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, far more than previously thought. Business secretary Vince Cable ruled out a complete ban on zero hours contracts, saying that employers and workers alike valued their flexibility. But he has launched a review of the contracts and has pledged to clamp down on "unfair" provisions that tie people on zero-hours contracts to one employer.
**Horsemeat lasagne **
When Irish food inspectors discovered horse DNA in beefburgers sold by British supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Aldi, they smashed open a massive food fraud scandal. Soon, mislabelled products were being uncovered across Europe, from Ikea meatballs to a Findus beef lasagne with 100% horse meat wrapped up in the pasta and white sauce. As well as exposing how criminal networks had infiltrated the food chain, the scandal provoked a grovelling apology from Tesco to its customers. But MPs have criticised the slow pace of investigations.
**Royal Mail's rocketing shares**
Royal Mail shares, sold by the government at 330p on 15 October, are now touching 600p. The sale of the 497-year old postal service – the biggest privatisation since John Major offloaded the railways 20 years ago – left retail investors and hedge funds alike scrambling for a piece of the action. The government insists the rocketing growth in the share price is nothing to worry about. Just "froth and speculation" said Cable. But as Royal Mail sailed into the FTSE 100 index of leading companies this month, with half-year profits up almost 150%, critics were convinced it was sold too cheaply.
**Hester's exit**
The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, Stephen Hester, was forced out in June. It came a month after he said he was ready to see through his "mission" to return RBS to the private sector after its £45bn taxpayer bailout. The government had a different view. The task of returning RBS to the private sector will now be overseen by a low-profile New Zealander, Ross McEwan, who had joined RBS in 2012 to run the bank's high-street branches.
**Co-op implodes**
Customers disillusioned with the big banks could always turn to the Co-op's ethical alternative, right? In October the movement lost control of its bank to New York hedge funds, in a bid to plug a £1.5bn capital shortfall. It was a spectacular reversal of fortunes for the sensible bank that had been the government's favourite to take over 631 branches owned by Lloyds. Customer worry and anger about what the hedge funds would do with the bank's ethical investment policy turned to incredulity when allegations emerged that the bank's former chairman had been filmed apparently buying class-A drugs.
**Energy bills**
At least the energy companies gave the banks a run for their money in the contest to be Britain's least favourite sector. The big six firms were accused by the energy minister of treating their customers as cash cows, after the firms announced inflation-busting increases to customer bills. The leader of the Labour party, Ed Miliband changed the political game with his pledge to freeze energy bills, prompting a panicky reaction from the coalition government to roll back green costs, a move that knocks £50 off the average household bill. But energy bosses warned MPs that prices were certain to rise again.
**Billionaires' row**
A Kensington broom cupboard available for £150,000; gazumping tales; tears at packed-out house viewings: in 2013 the housing boom was back. At least, it was in London, where average property prices rose 12% in the first 10 months of the year, compared with 5.5% in the rest of the country. The lift-off was stoked by foreign investors looking for racy assets and the government's Help to Buy mortgage subsidy scheme, described by one City commentator as a moronic idea.
**Amazon's tax bill **
Amazon became the latest multinational corporation to come under the parliamentary microscope after it was revealed that the company's UK subsidiary paid £2.4m in corporate taxes in 2012, despite making £4.3bn sales in the country. It was another internet giant, Google, that was accused of "doing evil" by the chair of the public accounts committee, Margaret Hodge, but the MP also urged a boycott of Amazon. To no avail. Amazon UK was selling 47 items every second at peak times during the traditional shopping blitz in the runup to Christmas. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.