Business confidence rising in the UK
24 Aug 2009
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) says that it expects third-quarter GDP to rise 0.5 per cent, reversing the pattern of declining output seen over the last five quarters.
The projection is based on the findings of ICAEW's quarterly Business Confidence Monitor (BCM).
The news adds to the upbeat reports from both sides of the Atlantic.
The revised second-quarter GDP figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last wek showed that the UK economy had done better than expected.
Meanwhile, in the US, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has hinted that the slowdown is on the verge of ending.
Speaking at a gathering of the world's central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Bernanke said that prospects for a return to growth in the near term appeared to be good.