Blue Monday

Dark times: Could the UK be back in recession?

Opinion Former Comments

CML: Gross mortage lending declines in April

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.2 billion in April. Lending fell by 19% from £12.6 billion in March but was 2% higher than the total of £10.0 billion in April 2011, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

BSA: UK consumers adopt self-build but lag behind Europe

One in 10 new homes in the UK are self built and the market generates £3 billion annually for the UK economy, says the BSA as it publishes a toolkit to provide information to encourage lenders not yet in this market to offer self-build mortgage finance.

CPA: Construction Continues to Fall but Some Positive Signs

The latest Construction Trade Survey published today shows that construction continued to suffer during 2012 Q1 but there were positive signs for some parts of the industry.

BSA: Lending and Approvals Jump in March

Gross mortgage lending by building societies and other mutual lenders rose 58% in March 2012 compared to the same month last year, and by 40% in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011. Net lending by mutuals was positive for the sixth consecutive month.

Fuel prices are holding the economy back, says RHA

The Road Haulage Association has reacted strongly to today’s news that the economy has shrunk by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012.

Unite: Recession and budget is proof Osborne is not up to the job

Unite, Britain's biggest union, says Britain's return to recession and the government's disastrous budget is proof that George Osborne is not up to the job.

NASUWT: Public services and economy "outrageously and unnecessarily sacrificed on the altar of coalition economic policy"

"The reason the country is facing a double dip recession is that a key driver of the Government's economic policy has not been about tackling the deficit, but to use the deficit as a smokescreen to pursue the ideologically driven destruction of public services." - Chris Keates, NASUWT. Read more here.

CPA: Construction Re-enters Recession in Q1 with Further Falls Expected

Today’s figures from ONS for GDP in the first quarter of 2012 show that the UK economy and construction industry returned to recession with a fall of 0.2% fall and 3% respectively.

CML: Stamp duty deadline boosts March lending for house purchase

Gross mortgage lending in March was an estimated £13.4 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This represents a 30% rise from £10.3 billion in February and a 17% rise from March 2011 (£11.4 billion).

CML: Gross mortgage lending unchanged in February

Gross mortgage lending held steady in February and was an estimated £10.7 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is almost identical to January’s gross lending total of £10.65 billion and 14% higher than February last year (£9.4 billion).

16/01/12

The day touted as the most depressing of the year has seen economic analysts predict a return to recession for the UK.

The Centre for Economic and Business Research and Ernst and Young's Item Club's latest forecasts predicted the UK economy would show negative growth in both the last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.

They predicted that a sustained economic recovery would not get underway until the summer.

The third Monday in January is known as 'Blue Monday' because it supposedly represents the most misery-generating combination of post-festive debt, poor weather and other mood-dampening variables.

CEBR: We take no pleasure from bleak forecasts

Ernst & Young: We're probably back in recession

Osborne: UK can thrive on Asian growth

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No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on

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Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'

Paxman: "Your challenge will be to stop yourself becoming a total irrelevance."

Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"

Balls managed to rile up the prime minister today

Rees-Mogg: Coalition can't fix Britain

Jacob Rees-Mogg wants a Tory-only government to roll back the state

The Watson/Mensch love-in continues… sort of

Louise Mensch and Tom Watson: Friends across the aisle

Pseudo facts? New London Assembly gets off to a rocky start

City Hall: Mayor Boris faces his friends and enemies

Beecroft stings 'socialist' Cable

Vince Cable branded 'socialist' by Adrian Beecroft

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Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Evidence-based policy should not be a radical concept. It needs to be celebrated.

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, the Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre (DCAL) hosted an event exploring the powerful benefits of bilingualism in spoken and sign languages, for hearing and deaf people alike - benefits that reach hearing and deaf people alike.

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Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

Application forms are now available for an exciting conference in Manchester. The fun-packed day will give you practical solutions and advice on managing stress and time to help you achieve a work/life balance.

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

Two weeks before the Government’s consultation on same-sex marriage draws to a close, Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association is participating in a debate hosted by Catholic Voices on the motion, ‘This House Would Legalise Same-Sex Marriage’.

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

This one-day event is targeted at professionals operating in the information destruction industry, and aims at keeping delegates updated on recent developments in their sector, providing an opportunity to network with fellow professionals, whilst offering access to an informative exhibition and a comprehensive conference programme.

Blue Monday

16/01/12

CEBR: We take no pleasure from bleak forecasts

Ernst & Young: We're probably back in recession

Osborne: UK can thrive on Asian growth

Opinion Formers

Latest News

No 10 unleashes Tory gay marriage opposition with free vote move

No eurozone answers as crisis drifts on

Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax

Leveson vs Paxman: 'You could become an irrelevance'

Cameron lashes out: Ed Balls branded a "muttering idiot"

Rees-Mogg: Coalition can't fix Britain

The Watson/Mensch love-in continues… sort of

Pseudo facts? New London Assembly gets off to a rocky start

Beecroft stings 'socialist' Cable

Special event coverage

Festival of Social Sciences: Celebrating the Social Sciences

Festival of Social Sciences: 2 languages: 2 brains, 2 minds, 2 cultures?

Opinion Former Events

Voice: Feeling stressed? Understand yourself? Now, move forward Conference

BHA: The Marriage Debate - ‘This house would legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales'

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition and Conference

ABI: The Future of Long-term Savings & Retirement Income - Automatic Enrolment and Beyond Conference

Take the Gold Challenge for St Dunstan's

TACT: 2013 Virgin London Marathon

16/01/12

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