In recent comments made by the World Bank they conveyed pretty much what the rest of us already knew, things aren’t going so well. The economy is still grinding along at a barely perceptible rate. Retail stores across the UK are struggling to open their doors, the recent collapse of HMV into administration another example of the effect of consumers seeking the ceaper options, be it digital music of video rather than buying a hard copy from a retailer, the effect of tightened purse strings has been more than apparent for a while
The bank states:
“What we are seeing is a recovery we anticipated in June being pushed a little further back in time, beginning closer to the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter of 2013,”
Essentially they’re pointing out the rather blatant detail that when some economic doo-dah makes a prediction of ‘growth in the 1st quarter’ I’m sure that person has a wealth of experience and data to back up their prediction, but the same could be said of the Met Office (weather) and the fact that once in a while their is a tremendous gaff and the prediction fails to meet reality.
Keep Markets Calm & Carry On
“You can keep markets calm for one or two years, but if this is not backed up with real growth you could get another round of financial risks coming in.”
Fitting if you’re making an internet meme, but hardly words to inspire courage in business owners when they’re faced daily with empty tills and rising costs. As for those financial risks I’m sure the 4000 or more that face unemployment as the likes of HMV cave under pressure are all too well aware of the financial risks.
They continue with:
“The economic recovery remains fragile and uncertain, clouding the prospect for rapid improvement and a return to more robust growth,”
Let me help break that down into more manageable English, “Things are quite bad, and we are really confused as to when it might get better”, however. these are the Words of the World Bank, and they’re generally more interested what the multi-billion pound/dollar companies are up to and what the Governments of the world do with their cash, which would be great news, if the UK had any cash.
Sadly, the UK has no cash. this little graph from economicshelp.org gives you a very real visual look at exactly how much money the UK doesn’t have.
source: http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/334/uk-economy/uk-national-debt/
So, 2013 is going to be difficult. If you’re not planning for the future, I for one would recommend doing so, be sure you are looking after yourself, and If you run a business be sure you have realistic expectations of what is ahead.
As always, If you are in business and if things are getting a little too much, feel free to call us for free and impartial advice about how to move things forward.
0845 409 4471
