Britain gets bad report from Chamber of Commerce

The Sydney News.Net
Tuesday 7th October, 2008

A survey of 5,000 companies has produced a report that concludes Britain is already in a worsening recession and is facing the dual threat of slowing growth and rising unemployment.

The British Chambers of Commerce report said sales and profits had plummeted over the summer amid a worsening economic outlook and collapsing confidence across all sectors of the industry.

The BCC said it was clear that the government and the Bank of England needed to take urgent action to avoid a major recession.

It urged the central bank to cut interest rates by 0.5 percent this week, while the government was told to slash business taxes.

The report warned that unemployment was expected to increase by between 300,000 and 350,000 over the next two years, which would take the total over two million.

The Bank of England is due to announce an interest rate decision Thursday amid speculation that rates could be cut from the current five percent to stimulate the economy amid ongoing turmoil.

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