THIS MORNING'S papers report that a year of natural disasters has left Britain's consumers at their least optimistic about the economy since the Iraq war.
GfK, the research firm that compiles consumer confidence data for Eurostat, said its confidence index fell to minus 9 in December from minus 8 the previous month. It was the lowest result since March 2003., reports the Times. The surprisingly weak figure will strengthen the argument that the Bank of England should cut interest rates in the new year to shore up subdued domestic demand, the paper says. A change in rates next month is considered unlikely, although one member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted for a cut in rates this month. But some analysts believe that the Bank m...
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