From a multi-headed beast symbolising the French aristocracy during the Revolution to a sinister octopus signifying American capitalism, these posters and pictures offer a fascinating look at how monsters have been used to represent political and economic ideas and systems over the years, usually by the sides that oppose them...

On Monday a group of scientists at the International Geological Congress in Cape Town said that it’s time to declare a new geological epoch. Its name? ‘The Anthropocene’...

If you live in one of the cities in which Deliveroo operate, you can’t miss their couriers speeding through the streets. Just look out for that huge black box on the back of their bike. Oh, and the massive kangaroo. Well, this week, drivers in London have been striking over a proposed deal that would see their pay change from $9.15 an hour (+ $1.30 per delivery) to $4.40 for each delivery made. 

A French-Tunisian gunman driving a lorry transporting weapons killed at least 84 people in the southern town of Nice on Thursday night, in the third major attack to hit the country in the last 18 months. No-one has claimed responsibility yet, but French president Hollande says it’s ‘undeniable’ that this is a terrorist attack. This is already having an impact on the French economy...

On Sunday, a massive lorry bomb exploded in central Baghdad, killing 281 people, and injuring many more. It’s the deadliest single attack in the country since the US-led invasion in 2003. It goes without saying that the situation is incredibly complicated, the political and economic system is terribly fractured, and people are suffering severely. Many feel the government simply can’t protect them. It’s of little comfort that on Wednesday, the UK finally issued the Chilcot Report...

On Tuesday, three suicide bombers targeted Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, killing 41 people, and injuring at least 239 others. It's Europe's third largest airport, and its the start of the Turkish tourism season, so it's a seriously vulnerable target. To even mention the economy in the wake of moments of horror like this doesn’t feel quite right, but the fact is, this comes at a time when Turkey’s tourism industry is already struggling...

So there it is. Brits woke up today to an extra-large helping of Brexit. No, that’s not a breakfast cereal. It means that they've voted to leave the European Union. But what does that mean for the country? It’s complicated of course, and there are lots of political and economic possibilities following the vote to leave. The result was very close, with around 52% voting to leave and 48% to stay. So how do things stand for… Overnight the markets have been freaking out quite a bit...

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye. It’s official, the UK is saying adieu to the European Union After yesterday’s referendum vote, Britain has opted to leave the European Union, with around 52% wanting out and 48% wanting to stay. Here’s our take on what this means for people’s pockets, the pound, trade, and economics itself (though there's so much speculation about this that by the time you read it, there’ll be a million other predictions out there saying differently!)...

Imagine that everyone, no matter what their background, whatever their job, how much money they had (or didn’t have) in the bank, was given an amount of money from the government every month. You wouldn’t have to work or exchange anything for this money, you wouldn’t have to be seeking work or unable to work. Equally, this wouldn’t mean you couldn’t work, invest, or earn any amount on top of this. We’d all receive the money, unconditionally. And that’s the basic idea behind basic income...