UK, Possibly Teetering on Double Dip, Consumer Confidence Tanks
The Telegraph
UK consumer confidence crashes to record low
The Chancellor suffered a setback ahead of next week's Budget, as leading surveys showed consumer confidence has hit a record low while Britons' expectations for climbing prices have reached their highest in more than two years.
Nationwide said its closely-watched confidence index last month nosedived to its lowest level since records began in May 2004, meaning sentiment was at a lower ebb than during the recession.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England's quarterly survey showed Britons now expect inflation to be 4pc over the next year, the highest rate predicted since August 2008.
The findings pile pressure on George Osborne to come up with some feel-good policies to calm fears that the hard-hit consumer could prove the weak link in the UK's recovery, particularly since the Government's austerity onslaught has yet to be felt in full.
Nationwide said its index tumbled 10 points on the previous month to a reading of just 38, as consumers reacted to the shock news that the economy shrank 0.6pc at the end of last year.
Economists had expected the index to come in similar to last month's 48 reading, still well below the 100 levels regularly seen before the financial crisis...
The results confirmed the gloomy picture painted by the rival index from market research group GfK NOP, which in January saw its biggest drop in almost 20 years and has so far failed to bounce back.
The danger is if consumers have little faith that their jobs are safe and the economy will keep growing, they will rein in their spending, hurting growth...