U.K. third-quarter performance figure adjusted
As is becoming the norm at the moment, the Office for National statistics has released adjusted figures for UK economic performance in the third quarter. Due to an upward revision in output growth in the services industry the new figures show that the economy fell by just 0.3% between July and September against initial estimates of 0.4%.
It is believed that many analysts had expected this upward revision of the performance of the UK economy and while there is confidence it will turn the corner into growth territory in the fourth quarter of 2009, this is far from certain. The UK economy is proving very difficult to predict in the short to medium term and indeed there are concerns that 2010 could be a very difficult year due to the "hangover" from 2009 and the fact that a number of fiscal support programs will be terminated.
The UK stock market seems at the moment anyways to have discounted the short-term uncertainty in the UK economy and is looking towards the medium to longer term. Whether these more optimistic forecasts for the medium to longer term prove correct remains to be seen but one thing is certain, if the UK economy does not move into positive territory in the fourth quarter of 2009 we could very well be back to "square one".
Share this..
Related stories
Rate cut before Christmas looks unlikely, says Charcol
A rate cut before Christmas is looking unlikely, according to independent mortgage advisors, John Charcol.The minutes from the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) show that, despite calls from many different quarters for an immediate cut in interest rates, the majority of committee members thought that the time was not yet ripe for a cut.Members ruled that it was best to wait and s...
Read MoreIs the stock market as risky as people suggest?
The last 24 months have seen a rollercoaster ride in the UK, and worldwide, stock market with billions upon billions of pounds lost but many people making significant profits in the short term. While there is no doubt there are short, medium and long-term risks to investing in any stock market in the world, is it sensible to avoid stock market investment?
The truth is that any inves...
Business leaders urge government to freeze minimum wage
The UK government has today been urged to freeze the minimum wage in order for businesses to retain their competitiveness in the UK economy amid one of the worst downturns in living history. The call has come from the British Chambers of Commerce which represents a wide spectrum of UK businesses many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. They have suggested that the government freeze the Natio...
Read MoreMicrosoft upbeat on UK technology market
Technology giant Microsoft has today released a forecast for the UK technology market which would indicate potentially 80,000 new jobs over the next four years. The company believes that over £50 billion a year will be spent on information technology in the UK and this will increase by 1.8% a year between 2009 and 2013. Upwards of 2,500 new businesses will materialise which will help to create th...
Read MoreToxic assets set to move to taxpayers balance sheet
It has been revealed by sources close to the Treasury that UK taxpayers will be forced, by the government, to underwrite £200 billion of bad debt in the UK banking system. These so-called toxic assets consist of traditional bad debt as well as bad debts carried over from the initial credit crunch which have yet to be addressed. Initially the US government had hoped to install a plan to acquire al...
Read More