It’s interesting though, you mentioned the 0.2% year-on-year manufacturing rise in January which the BBC is somewhat triumphalist about as it is it’s first year-on-year rise since March 2008. The ONS said that as well as the harsh weather being a factor, some firms had reported they had rushed to complete orders in December before January’s rise in value added tax. The EEF, said that the output figures were “surprising given the raft of other survey data since the beginning of the year which has been more upbeat and the underlying trend is one of growth and the continued recovery in the world economy should underpin this in the months to come”. In addition, European industrial output as a whole rose the most in two decades in January. The Prime Minister said: on 10 March, “It’s pretty obvious what’s happening. The European economy which is our major source of growth is not growing fast enough.” Admittedly though this was more in response to the fact that the UK trade deficit had widened to its biggest in 17 months.

Plenty in the melting pot, particularly after the snow!

Regards

Mike