Economy shows signs of life
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.Britain's all-important service sector yesterday provided fresh hope that the country has finally come out of its worst recession since records began.
The latest activity index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply showed a reading of 56.8 last month, up from 56.6 in November. It is the eighth month in a row that the index has been in positive territory. A figure of above 50 indicates growth.
Yesterday's figure is also 1.5 points above its average level, taken from readings since mid-1996, when the series started.
Economists were encouraged by the fact that the gains were broad-based with incoming and outstanding business, prices charged and input price indices all improving against November. Only the business expectations index was down.
The last week has also seen positive data on manufacturing and mortgage approvals. Economists widely expect fourth-quarter GDP figures will show that the economy returned to growth after being disappointed by the third-quarter figures, which initially showed a 0.4 per cent contraction, subsequently revised up to 0.2 per cent.
But anxieties remain about the recovery, with mixed data clouding the picture. The Office for National Statistics said yesterday that corporate profitability has now fallen to its lowest level for eight years.
The figures were released as the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee began its first meeting of 2010. Today, it is expected to keep rates on hold at 0.5 per cent and also leave the quantitative easing programme at current levels.
Deutsche Bank economist George Buckley said: "Quarter four should be the first quarter that output expands again, if these surveys are to be believed. Of course, the PMI surveys in the third quarter of last year also suggested an expansion in GDP but that failed to materialise, so it is important to treat any forecasts with some caution."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments