Thread: UK Recovery Watch

U.K. Services Increase Most Since 2002 on Weather Rebound

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Britain’s services companies grew the most in almost nine years in January as hotels and restaurants recovered after the coldest December in a century.
Services, which account for about three quarters of the economy, rose 1.3 from the previous month, when they shrank 1.1 percent, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The January increase, the biggest since July 2002, is a “bounceback” after cold weather, the statistics office said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...r-rebound.html

Couple of snippets of news for the UK recovery watch.

House prices were up 0.5% in March and 0.6% for the quarter.

The average price of a house is now £164,751, compared with £161,183 in February.

These results means that average house prices are now 0.1% higher than a year ago - confirming the general impression that the market remains rather flat.



“Prices have now increased, albeit modestly, in three of the past four months,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist.


Elsewhere

The services sector recovered somewhat in January, growing by 1.3% compared with January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The sector shrank by 1.1% in December, so the revival was all the more striking. The monthly rise was the biggest since July 2002.

Hotels and restaurants showed the strongest performance in February, with output increasing by 4.4%. Transport, storage and communications increased by 1.7%, and business and financial services grew by 1.4%.



"Given the dominant role of the services sector, this is a significant boost to hopes that the economy has achieved a decent bounce back in growth," said Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.

"We currently forecast GDP to grow by 0.7% in the first quarter."

Originally Posted by RobWilliams

The average price of a house is now £164,751, compared with £161,183 in February.

These results means that average house prices are now 0.1% higher than a year ago - confirming the general impression that the market remains rather flat.

or some might say "steady"

Glass half full or half empty

Originally Posted by Aldo

or some might say "steady"

steady decline

Originally Posted by peacock

steady decline

OK if it makes you feel better

:yes:

Originally Posted by Aldo

OK if it makes you feel better

Just wanted to see if youve gonr to bed yet

er OK, kind of creepy though

Originally Posted by Aldo

er OK, kind of creepy though

well of topic now

CBP chairman Adrian Clark, of Legal & General, said: “Clearly, announcements like this demonstrate that the capital is important to Wales and set a visionary agenda as such an investment provides long-term aspirations and careers for young people who want to stay in Wales and build a progressive economy.

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wa...#ixzz1IRR7MpUB

Marks & Spencer back in Paris after 10 years away

Almost ten years to the day after it alienated millions of loyal customers by closing all 38 of its shops on mainland Europe, Marks & Spencer announced a bold plan to retake Paris with a series of stores and a French website.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...ears-away.html

Over half (58%) of UK small businesses feel positive about how their business will fare over the next six months, according to a national survey of 2,019 small business owners released today by T-Mobile.
The positive findings reveal how the UK’s small businesses are optimistic about the future, with many prepared to make changes to their services and take their companies in new directions to ensure success. One in three is considering developing new products/services (31%) or expanding within the UK (30%) to grow the business. One in ten (11%) small business owners also see international expansion as key to spurring growth and 55% believe they are in a stronger place to succeed than a year ago.
http://www.is4profit.com/small-busin...-optimism.html