PITY the pontiff. Not only does he face the urgent task of sorting out sordid power struggles in the heart of the Vatican; in the wider world of Catholicism, rival political camps are eagerly looking forward to his first pronouncements on …

Consumer spending has been surprisingly resilient in the face of a sharp rise in taxes and, more recently, higher petrol prices. It rose 0.3% (after inflation) in both January and February, the government reported this morning, and looks l…