Never before in the field of human conflab has so much fuss been made by so many about so little. The fact that UK GDP was reported last week as increasing by only 0.1pc in the fourth quarter of 2009 seems pretty meaningless. After all, these statistics are subject to an enormous margin of error, and there is a bias towards under-estimation, so the figures could well be revised up considerably. The Bank of England has warned that the controversial EU Directive on regulating hedge funds and private equity firms could lead to market chaos. 04 Feb 2010 Government spending will have to fall by 10.9pc over four years to achieve plans set out by the Chancellor in the pre-Budget report (PBR), an independent study has shown. 04 Feb 2010 Need money? Just print it. But on Thursday the Bank of England's monetary policy committee will probably decide to stop doing so - calling its action a pause, just in case. The decision will leave markets to pass judgement on a country with minimal growth in GDP but massive growth in debt - and a highly unpredictable election just months away. The answer could be nasty. 04 Feb 2010 The European Commission has ordered Greece to slash public spending and spell out details of its austerity plan within "one month." 03 Feb 2010 EC endorses Greek plan to cut its budget deficit, but said it must take further steps to cut public sector wages and put finances in order. 03 Feb 2010 Growth in Britain's services sector slowed more than expected last month as snow-related disruptions and a rise in VAT took their toll. 03 Feb 2010 31 Jan 2010Roger Bootle
Roger Bootle is one of the City's leading economists. In his column he sheds
light on how the UK and world economies are performing and the challenges
facing the world's policymakers.
LATEST FROM ROGER BOOTLE
A weakening recovery poses the real threat of a double-dip recession
Bank of England slams EU draft Directive
Whitehall must cut spending by £42bn, says IFS
Greek dangers for Britain as QE ends
Greece under EU protectorate as funds shift fire to Portugal
EU endorses Greek budget reforms, wants wages cuts
UK services growth slows sharply, hit by VAT rise
Sunday, 7 February 2010
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