ECONOMIC SURVEY
British business confidence declines on Brexit fears
London — British companies are giving ominous signs about the economy, just as the government launches EU divorce negotiations, data showed on Wednesday, although momentum in the eurozone is slowing. A survey published on Wednesday suggested Britain’s economy probably expanded at a quarterly pace of 0.4% in April-June. But its business expectations component fell to levels not seen since just after the June 2016 vote to leave the EU. The eurozone’s economy, meanwhile, probably grew nearly twice as fast, by 0.7%, during the second quarter. Business expectations dipped, but remained strong. "This shouldn’t come as a surprise," said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank of the British findings. "The UK is suffering the fallout from the Brexit (vote) of last year and has clearly moved onto a slower growth path." Disappointingly for some Bank of England (BoE) officials who want to raise interest rates, IHS Markit’s purchasing managers Index (PMI) showed business expectations not far off the lows la...
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