Small Business Mood

It is amazing that there are still some commentators who are hedging their bets regarding the recession.

Here we are, just one week away from Christmas with, hopefully a jolly good time for us all. The outlook for 2009 seems decidedly bleak and today’s news (17 Dec 2008) is just more of the same..

“”"”   The British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) quarterly report found the credit crunch and rising costs had dented the most important sectors of the economy

The FTSE 100 stock index briefly dipped into a “bear market”

Housebuilder Persimmon revealing it had cut 2,000 jobs amid woes in the UK housing market

The Council of Mortgage Lenders saying that a recovery in the mortgage squeeze was still “some way away”

“The outlook is grim and we believe that the correction period is likely to be longer and nastier than expected” David Kern (economic advisor to BCC)

Services firms, which include restaurants, gyms and tour operators, have been particularly hard hit

Wave of pessimism sweeping across the business world, from retailers to house builders

Industrial output was falling at its fastest rate for more than a year  “”"”

And so on….. 

And yet, believe it or not, there are still some economists hedging their bets with “the chances of a recession in the UK are now 50:50″.

Lucky you’re not running a business, guys….