The announcement finally came that the UK is now officially in recession and has been so since July 2008. GDP fell 0.6% between July and September and a further 1.5% in the final quarter, thus meeting the technical definition of a recession.

The news is no surprise and it isn’t really a question whether we’re in a recession but how long we’ll be in a recession for?

Gordon Brown has admitted that the downturn in the world economy is likely to send the UK into recession. Adding that the crisis in the global financial markets would cause “recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and - because no country can insulate itself from it - Britain too”. (more…)

The credit crunch will be the cause of a slowdown in worldwide economic growth, a forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded. Latest figures predict gorwth of 3.7% in both 2008 and 2009, a decrease of 1.25% on 2007 rates. (more…)

Lehman Brothers has issued a report that states the UK faces a one in three chance of going in to recession during the next two years. Global financial issues caused by the credit crunch, higher mortgage rates and reduced availablility of mortgage deals will finally lead to a slowdown in consumer spending. Adding up all these factors means the prospect of a recession won’t go away. (more…)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that consumer spending grew by 0.2%  in the last three months, compared to 0.9% in the three months prior to this. The figures support the view that the UK is set for a slowdown during 2008 which could pave the way for further interest rate cuts. Economic growth based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 0.6% for the same period compared to 0.7% for the prior three months. However, the slowdown is not expected to lead to a full-blown recession in the UK so it isn’t doomsday scenariojust yet.