Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Business confidence has fallen for the first time in two years, raising further questions about the momentum of the recovery.
Ahead of a vote by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee on interest rates this week, the latest confidence monitor from ICAEW/Grant Thornton gave a reading of 32.3, down from 37.3 in the second quarter of 2014.
“Businesses are becoming more realistic about the future,” said Stephen Ibbotson of the ICAEW. “The imbalances in our economic recovery that were masked by rising confidence continue to persist – our exports remain weak, and investment isn’t maintaining momentum. "
"We look to the Bank of England and the Government to work harder to ensure that the recovery is placed on a broader footing before we see this still relatively high optimism erode away.”
On Thursday, the MPC is set to take a decision on whether to raise interest rates from their historic lows of 0.5 per cent. Although no member has voted for an increase since July 2011, experts believe at least two of its members, Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty, will vote for a rise.
The ICAEW/Grant Thornton confidence index, which has been running since 2005, has been steadily rising since the second quarter of 2013. In the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009 it hit lows of minus 45.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments