Gloomy…choking business investment…
Sometimes it seems as though we talk ourselves out of success rather than trying to create it. Flicking through the reactions to the Bank of England’s latest decision on interest rates and the subsequent press conference it would be easy to infer that the economy is in poor shape. But just look at some of the underlying figures and a different picture emerges.
Admittedly the BoE has downgraded its growth forecast to 1.7% this year but that’s still way ahead of the pre-Brexit vote predictions of a possible recession and ahead of the 1.3% growth forecast for 2017 which the BoE predicted a year ago. Then there is the services sector which saw a PMI rise in July to 53.8, above the forecast level. Or how about manufacturing which also saw a July PMI rise to 55.1, or job creation which also reported strong growth.
Admittedly some sectors aren’t doing quite as well with the construction index falling back to 51.9; below expectations, but still indicating growth. So why with all of these positive indicators around are the papers so keen to promote a negative outlook? Is it because good news doesn’t sell whereas bad news does?
Whatever the reason and whatever the forecast, the economy comprises thousands and thousands of individual businesses, all providing goods and services for the benefit of their customers. Forecasts and predictions can only go so far but in order to deliver economic success it’s up to every business leader to play their part in looking for new markets and opportunities and delivering growth.
