UK Business Optimism Reaches 6 Year High

UK companies are at their most optimistic since the onset of the financial crisis, bucking a worldwide trend that has seen business confidence drop in most other big economies.

According to the latest global business outlook survey from Markit, the UK has shaken off the global gloom thanks to a jump in confidence among service companies. That sector, which covers an array of businesses such as hairdressers, restaurants, insurers and lawyers, enjoyed a jump in optimism to a six-year high.

In the smaller manufacturing sector, confidence about business activity in the year ahead was also relatively strong, holding at a two-year high.

Markit, a financial information company, said the optimism in the UK contrasted with many other economies, particularly China and the US where confidence has dropped sharply in recent months.

“The UK … is undergoing a period of solid and increasingly sustainable-looking economic growth,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

via The Guardian

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