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ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: IS THE UK ON COURSE TO BOUNCE BACK IN QUARTER ONE?
SIMON WARD | HENDERSON
I am encouraged by the strength of employment expectations in EU surveys for March, suggesting that firms have weathered recent events with their optimism intact.
PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC
We expect to see GDP rebounding by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of the year. That would reflect around 0.5 per cent ‘lost’ last year as well as 0.3 per cent ‘genuine’ growth.
HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT
Signs that consumers are reining in their spending is a particular concern. As consumer spending accounts for 65 per cent of GDP this is very worrying for growth prospects.