Times: UK economy heads for ‘horror movie’

BRITAIN is facing an “economic horror movie” because of a “toxic mixture” of a moribund credit market and volatile oil prices, according to a leading forecasting group. The Ernst & Young Item club, which uses the Treasury’s economic model, will argue in a report tomorrow that the economy will struggle to avoid recession. The dreaded R word appears again! Peter Spencer, chief economist at the Item club, said: “Both on the high street and in the housing market it is going to get a great deal worse before it gets better. Begbies Traynor monitors the number of firms reporting “critical” problems - those facing winding-up petitions or more than £5,000 in county-court judgments against them. The figure ballooned in the second quarter to 4,258, nearly seven times more than in the same period.