Is The UK In Recession?
While officially speaking the UK is not in recession, in reality the economy continues to nose dive with disastrous consequences. News today has shown that not only are house prices under severe pressure but there is evidence of panic selling with sellers lowering their prices in order to try and force through a sale - never mind a quick sale!
News that just 14% of surveys are actually resulting in property sales, against a figure of 40% this time last year, has only served to further highlight the precarious state of the UK housing market. But does this absolute doom and gloom mean we are nearing the bottom? Are the signs of panic selling the start of the big sell off?
The stock market is a prime example of the traditional investment boom and bust scenario with panic selling often marking the turning point of the market. While we have not seen panic buying to the extent that you might expect, the signs are there. Rumours of a bid for Barratt Development, with two major institutions taking sizeable stakes, has further strengthened the argument that a turning point is not too far away, but is this really true?
Watch this space.........
Share this..
Related stories
What does the future hold for the UK economy?
As the Office for National Statistics issues yet more revisions regarding the performance of the UK economy during the first quarter of 2009 there are concerns about UK government forecasts for the future. The UK government is forecasting economic growth of 1.25% in 2010 although the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development believes that the UK economy will show no growth and effecti...
Read MoreUnofficial strike action tops 4000 workers
As the dispute at the Lindsey oil refinery mushrooms out of control it has been revealed that up to 4000 workers are now on unofficial strike action across the UK. This has this evening prompted French company Total, which runs the Lindsey oil refinery, to agree to face-to-face talks with UK unions. Despite the fact that the unions have been critical of the wildcat and unofficial strikes they appe...
Read MoreIs JJB Sports susceptible to a takeover?
As we covered yesterday, JJB Sports is desperately seeking to raise around £50 million to increase the company's working capital resources. While a number of options have been considered it seems as though the company is priming the market for a significantly discounted rights issue or open offer. This would see additional shares issued to existing investors at a significant discount to the curre...
Read MoreUK banks must be allowed to grow again
In what is turning out to be a significant flip-flop of government policy, Treasury Minister Lord Myners has today suggested that UK banks must be allowed to grow again so that they can compete on a worldwide stage. This comment, while aimed at the Conservative party policy of reducing the impact and strength of the UK banking sector, is totally at odds with earlier suggestions by both Alistair Da...
Read MoreMatalan announces impressive Christmas trade
January 2010 Matalan, the out-of-town discount retailer, has today issued a statement regarding Christmas trade showing an increase of 13.7% in sales. This comes at a time when founder John Hargreaves is looking to offload the business for £1.5 billion and would appear to be in the final throes of agreeing a sale. While Matalan has often attracted controversial headlines it is worth rememberin...
Read More