City expects credit crunch to worsen this year

The quarterly CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers report shows industry confidence is continuing to decline, with 97% of businesses predicting there is a “good chance” credit conditions will get worse over the next six months. At least 10,000 jobs could be lost in the sector, the CBI predicts, with 25% of respondents saying they had cut jobs over the past three months. Business volumes fell sharply, with 47% saying they had decreased, compared to 17% reporting an increase. The -30% balance was worse than expected and followed December's 17-year low of -33%. Sentiment among financial services...