Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsYesterday, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said it was “in the balance” whether the UK will fall into a recession today.Bailey told the Economic Affairs Committee in the House of Lords:“Last year, overall GDP was basically flat... It wouldn’t take much to tip it either way, frankly.”“There is a good chance of another modest quarter-to-quarter contraction in GDP data for Q4 23 leading to headlines that a “recession has begun”.”“However, as BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has highlighted, it doesn’t makes sense to put too much weight on a “technical” 2 quarters of modestly negative growth and any recession will very likely be shallow as real disposable incomes rise and monetary policy starts to ease. ““I spent my career at the Bank of England and in business before entering politics.I know what it takes to run a successful economy. Because only by building a stronger economy can we rebuild as a stronger nation.” Continue reading...