No recession in the UK then?

Even the BBC that bastion of pro-Gordon Brown news have had to report that "The squeeze on the availability of mortgages is expected to continue in the next three months, the Bank of England has warned. But it also predicted that demand for home loans was likely to fall slightly during the same period. The Bank, in its Credit Conditions Survey, said lenders expected the rate of homeowners defaulting to rise."

The article concludes: "Vicky Redwood, of Capital Economics, said the evidence increased the chances of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee cutting interest rates next time. "The outlook for economic growth has deteriorated enough to prompt a rate cut next week," she said." In other words, there will be negative economic groth unless the MPC cut interest rates aggressively; unfortunately the MPC have to target inflation above all other factors (thanks to Gordon Brown) so they have a major issue. To put it mildly, the economy is on the edge of a precipice.