Budget 2008 - The fiscal cupboard is bare

A darling for business? The chancellor ahead of his maiden budget on Wednesday

The Chancellor, in his first Budget, duly announced that the Treasury is now expecting the economy to grow more slowly this year and next than it forecast at the time of the Pre-Budget Report just five months ago. It now thinks the economy will grow by between 1.75% and 2.25% this year before bouncing back to 2.25% to 2.75% in 2009. That, however, is still more optimistic compared with most independent analysts, including those at HSBC. On average, independent forecasters expect growth to drop to well below 2% this year and to remain below 2% next year.

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BizTed says:
I am not sure what Britain Darling & Brown are living in as it's not this one. They said that borrowing was down???? Really!! Things are going well - not sure I'd have used well, okay at a push... Business is a lot tougher than it was 12 months ago there is no doubting that.