The Longest Recession on Record

Figures released this morning show that GDP fell by 0.4% in Q3, making this the longest recession on record.

Pundits had been expecting, and Gordon "no more boom and bust" Brown had been hoping for, a small increase in GDP. Indeed the BBC "Ceefax" news this morning briefly reported that we had pulled out of recession (so much for reporting real news, real time!).

Undaunted, Alistair Darling claimed that growth will return by the end of the year. However, his prediction was dismissed by others as being nonsense.

Clearly the Bank of England will have to continue with its policy of quantitative easing, having used up its other weapons by reaching near zero interest rates.

Any recovery will be slow and patchy.