Growth in the UK manufacturing industry appeared to slip during August with the Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers index showing a reduction from 56.9 in July to 54.3 in August. While anything over 50 indicates growth in the sector, the figure of 54.3 is well below economist's forecasts of 57. Therefore it looks as though growth in the UK manufacturing sector, which had been picking up over the last few months, may well be starting to slow again.
As the likes of Spain continue to suffer from massive unemployment it was revealed that unemployment in the euro zone as a whole remained at a record 10% for the fifth month in a row. Official statistics confirm that 16 million people remained unemployed in the euro zone amid concerns that the European economy is, like the UK, potentially set for a very difficult and potentially damaging downturn.
The GfK/NOP consumer confidence barometer showed an improvement to -18 in August from -22 in July. This is a slight improvement on analyst's expectations of a -24 reading for the very useful and often very volatile barometer of consumer confidence. So where does this leave the UK economy in the short to medium term?
The British Chamber of Commerce has today issued a surprising report in which the association has increased its forecast for UK economic growth in 2010 from 1.3% to 1.7%. The forecast for 2011 has also been increased from 2% to 2.2% although rather surprisingly the British Chamber of Commerce has also signalled its concern about the medium-term outlook for the UK economy.
Last week's revelation that the initial 2.4% increase in GDP in the US economy in the second quarter was actually more like 1.6%, after the government revised the figure downwards, further highlights the difficulties and dangers of trusting economic data around the world. So is it sensible to base economic and investment decisions on data which can vary so wildly?
Charles Bean, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, has today suggested that central banks around the world may well need to step back into the fray and prop up ailing economies. Despite the fact that central banks around the world effectively bailed out the financial sector in the early days of the worldwide recession it seems as though another bout of funding may well be required in the short to medium term.
A recent survey by the CBI suggests that UK retailers are very confident that retail sales will grow in September after reporting a very strong August. This suggestion, from the actual retail sector itself, seems very much at odds with economic forecasts for the UK retail market and the UK economy as a whole. So why are retailers looking forward to September?
Despite the fact that many economists believe that the UK is on the verge of a double dip recession the UK authorities yesterday surprisingly upgraded UK economic growth in the second quarter to 1.2%. The main factor behind the revision was household spending, which increased by 0.7% over the period. So what does this mean for the UK economy?
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has today confirmed that the "committee" will use every tool in its power to support the US economy and its fragile recovery. This comes after news of a significant downwards revision in the second quarter GDP figures which has somewhat shocked investment markets.
The US authorities have today revised downward an earlier forecast that the US economy grew by 2.4% in the second quarter of 2010. The new figure is 1.6% which is a significant revision although interestingly it was actually above the 1.4% consensus forecast from a recent Reuters survey. It is believed that the downwards revision was purely and simply because of a sharp increase in imports over the period.
