The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
entertainment6 hours ago
Wednesday’s official second estimate of gross domestic product confirmed Britain entered a steep recession at the end of last year which economists expect to persist for some time.
Households cut spending at the swiftest rate since 1991, manufacturers saw their worst quarter since 1974 -- when Britain was forced into a three-day week due to energy shortages—and the dominant services sector hasn’t done as badly since 1979.
Analysts found some solace in the unrevised headline figure—still the biggest quarterly fall in GDP since 1980 -- and that a big drop in stocks accounted for much of the decline.
“Make no mistake, the demand side of this report is recessionary with a capital R,” said Malcolm Barr, an economist at JP Morgan. “But there is reason to think the intensity of declines will begin to fade as stock levels fall to a position firms believe is more sustainable.”
Third quarter output was revised down to show a 0.7 percent drop on the quarter, from a 0.6 percent fall reported before.
That left growth for 2008 as a whole at just 0.7 percent—the weakest rate since 1992 and a marked deceleration from the 3 percent expansion in 2007.
Some experts think Britain will fare the worst of the world’s biggest economies this year, not least because of its dependence on financial services which have been pummelled by the credit crunch.
However, some larger economies took a bigger hit at the end of last year. In the three months to December, Japan suffered a 3.3 percent drop in GDP—the biggest since 1974 -- and Germany’s economy shrank by a record 2.1 percent.
The United States, the world’s biggest economy, contracted at its fastest pace in nearly 27 years in the fourth quarter.
The Bank of England—and the government—are hoping for a turnaround towards the end of this year following 4 percentage points in interest rate cuts to a record low of 1 percent and a 20 billion pound ($29 billion) fiscal stimulus package.
Others are less optimistic.
“The more timely surveys suggest that GDP has continued to contract at a quarterly rate of at least one percent at the start of this year,” said Vicky Redwood at Capital Economics.
“Overall, then, the economy still looks set to contract by around 3 percent this year—and we think a further fall in 2010 is likely too.”
British households cut expenditure by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, the largest drop since the second quarter of 1991.
Manufacturing and production output figures were revised down sharply, to show the biggest falls for both since 1974, when the government imposed a three-day working week because of energy shortages.
However, the fall in output in the more dominant services sector was revised up slightly, but still marked the sharpest decline since 1979.
The BoE is expected to embark on an unprecedented voyage into quantitative easing, whereby the central bank uses newly created money to buy assets in an effort to boost demand when interest rates near zero or rate cuts stop working.
The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
entertainment6 hours ago
The students' demands range from a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises
world6 hours ago
Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
cricket6 hours ago
Saudi Arabia has begun to explore extracting lithium from sea water
business7 hours ago
Speaking after meeting Lebanese leaders, French foreign minister says there had been "a lot of progress" over the French proposals
mena7 hours ago
The three-shot winner from Japan says he is aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future
sports7 hours ago
Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
sports7 hours ago
The UAE is India's second-largest export destination after the US
economy8 hours ago