The Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom George Osborne, speaking at a dinner held at the insurers Lloyd's of London,
said short-term hopes for the economy have been revised down in recent weeks. He further added we can remain masters of our own destiny. Recent data had led to downward revisions, but that he would be sticking to his deficit-cutting plan. Earlier Mr. George Osborne announced he will make his autumn statement on 29 November in the House of Commons.
Mr. Osborne said his programme was strong enough to withstand some economic buffeting we set in train a plan that was comprehensive and clear in its vision, but also flexible enough to withstand shocks along the way. He also claimed the UK was thinking ahead better than its European rivals We had an emergency budget last summer on our own terms and not this summer on the market's terms, unlike so many other countries.
The OBR currently expects the UK economy to expand by 1.7% in 2011, but most economists forecast lower growth. Before the announcement of the autumn statement on 29 November, the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) latest economic forecasts will be released.
As such August seems to be looming over the British economy with most of its vital sectors reporting low growth.
Dewsbury, Dudley, Hartlepool, Margate, Stockport and West Bromwich were the six English towns that have been identified as having the highest proportion of vacant shops by retail analysts the Local Data Company. The new data will show that the national shop vacancy rate is 14.3%. According to the data gathered, 28,991 out of 202,158 retail units in England, Scotland and Wales were empty. That many failing high streets remained ripe for rejuvenation given a proper assessment of what consumers wanted from them.
In the construction segment the down trend seems to be prevalent, as per the Purchasing Managers’ Index based on a monthly survey of building firms has fallen to 52.6, from 53.5 in July. It is the lowest reading since the construction sector returned to growth eight months ago, and comes amid worries of a renewed recession. Separate data showed a sharp fall in new construction orders. New orders in the second quarter dropped 16.3% versus the first three months of the year. The analysis identified the crisis is due to increase input costs, due to higher fuel and raw materials. In a recoup measure the firms said they continued to cut back on employment and sub-contractor usage.
On the manufacturing front also the analysis recorded a low 49, this figure was a 26-month low. New export business, which drove the recent manufacturing recovery, fell at its fastest rate since May 2009. New orders and employment also fell.
This spells a little bad for the UK economy, but with Osborne at the helm of affairs anytime the economy could bounce back towards the roads to prosperity. Let’s wait and see!
