REUTERS: 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… (more)
EDITOR: This is what would have happened in the USA had the right wing conservatives had been even more successful in rescinding what government stimulus continues to exist due to deficit spending. They manage to slow our recovery to a crawl, but at least they haven’t yet succeeded in putting the county into a steeper recession. Recessions are ended by putting people back to work; not by putting them out of jobs! Budgets are balanced and deficits reduced through full employment.
