23/07/2001

Bleak economic report predicts UK recession

A quarterly economic report by the Ernst & Young's Item Club has warned that the UK will sink into a recession unless the Bank of England steps into help.

In its report, the Club called for the pound to be deliberately weakened and said that the Bank should intervene in the currency markets to sell the pound and buy the euro, bridging the ever-growing gap between the two.

In the bleak warning the report added that the high street and housing market would follow the manufacturing sector into recession and that the economy would not pick up for another two years.

It said that the strength of the pound against the euro had meant that British manufacturers were struggling to compete in Europe.

The Item Club wants the Bank of England, in collaboration with the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve, to intervene and artificially weaken the strength of the pound against the euro. (MB)

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