Britain's 'Triple Dip' Recession Perilously Close As Economy Shrinks

[onehandle]

Source: Reuters

LONDON - Britain's economy shrank more than expected at the end of 2012 with a North Sea oil production slump, lower factory output and a hangover from London's Olympics pushing it perilously close to a "triple-dip" recession.

The country's gross domestic product fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, sharper than a 0.1 percent decline forecast by analysts.

The news is a blow for Britain's Conservative-led government, which a day earlier defended its austerity program against criticism from the International Monetary Fund. It needs solid growth to meet its budget targets, keep a triple-A debt rating and bolster its chances of winning a 2015 election.

Sterling fell to its lowest in 13-1/2 months against the euro and hit a five-month low against the dollar in response to the data. The euro was also buoyed by a stronger-than-expected German Ifo sentiment survey.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/britain-triple-dip-recession_n_2550520.html

---

Austerity Rules!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. I'm sure it didn't help that the Conservative MPs LAUGHED

as they passed legislation that cut social benefits.

[louis-t]

2. Hey, you right-wing Brit morons......

AUSTERITY DOESN'T WORK, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD.

Dumbasses.

[1StrongBlackMan]

3. And yet ...

our rightwing american morons want to give it a shot.

[louis-t]

7. Isn't it funny how we keep hearing...

"WE DON'T WANNA BE GREECE OR EUROPE!1!!1!" yet every move repugs make is pushing us further into the same problems they are having in those countries.

[1StrongBlackMan]

8. Crazy, huh? n/t

[lunatica]

4. Funny how the countries practicing austerity are circling the drain while

others who aren't are actually gaining economic ground. Yeah sure, not fast enough to satisfy the permanently pessimistic, but still far better than going into a third recession.

[xtraxritical]

5. Anyone here ever heard of "Hoovervilles"? His arusterity policies in the early 1930s plunged

the USA into the Great Depression, and RepubliCONs want to do it again!

[go west young man]

6. Cameron has pushed his ridiculous austerity measures

at any cost and made cuts into the DHS and the police and customs. Meanwhile utilities have been all privatized and gone through the roof. The whole thing is imploding. The conservatives have done more damage this time around than ever before. Yet just like the US the one thing they won't cut is the military budget. Idiots.