By: Mike Campbell
According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), the UK economy will return to growth in Q4 of 2009 when figures are finally released. The official figures are due to be released on the 26th of January, but NIESR, a think tank, has predicted that the UK will post growth of 0.3%. Many economists believed that the UK would leave recession in Q3, but it didn’t happen. In the event, the UK economy has languished in recession for a year and a half, making it the worst recession since record keeping began in 1955. NIESR suggests that the UK GDP declined by about 4.8% over 2009 which marks a worst contraction than was seen during the Great Depression and the UK’s worst contraction since 1921. NIESR believes that the signs of a recovery can be seen in the UK economy.
German Economy Shrinks By 5% In 2009
Germany has long been the powerhouse economy of Europe. Recently released figures show that the German economy shrank by 5% in 2009 on the back of reduced investments and declining exports. The decline was the largest since the end of the Second World War and far outstripped the previous worst performance; a decline of 0.9% in 1975. Europe’s largest economy was one of the first to emerge from recession, returning to growth in the second quarter of 2009. Germany is expecting to return to a positive GDP for the full year this year with cautious predictions suggesting 1.2%. Some analysts are expecting the final figure to come in closer to 2%, but obviously this will depend on the state of the global economy.