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Title: CBI Warns Recession Alarm For Manufacturers

Story Filed: Thursday, April 27, 2000 12:31 PM EST

LONDON (April 26) XINHUA - Confidence among UK manufacturers is falling for the first time in a year,according to the latest survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The CBI's quarterly survey found that business confidence, export orders and employment levels had all fallen in the last quarter - alarming signs that the recovery in the manufacturing sector has stalled.

The warning came as further weakness in the euro sent the pound to a 14-year high of 111.9 in index terms - up from 111.4 overnight and 107 at the start of the year.

The results have led to renewed calls for the Bank of England not to raise interest rates again at next week's monetary policy meeting.

Describing the survey's results as depressing, Nick Reilly, head of the CBI's economic affairs committee,highlighted a collapse in investment intentions which he said was particularly worrying.

He appealed to the Bank of England to hold interest rates unchanged, claiming that the economy was now showing signs of slowing and that a rate rise would risk pushing the pound higher still.

Reilly said: "There is now an opportunity for the Bank of England to leave interest rates on hold, indicating that they have peaked, and encouraged a decline in the exchange rate."

Copyright XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

http://library.northernlight.com/FB20000427930000013.html?cb=200&dx=2006&sc=0#doc

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 27, 2000

Answers

Bad sign. England has always been a leading edge indicator of things to come in Europe. The near-collapse of the nothing-backed Euro is also especially discouraging.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), April 27, 2000.

Isn't XINHUA the Chinese news agency? I wonder why they are so up on what's happening in Britain.

-- Wellesley (wellesley@freeport.net), April 28, 2000.