News articles

Businesses 'must remain cautious of recovery'

Companies across the UK must remain cautious and not get over-optimistic that a recovery will get underway, it has been claimed.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said as the economy begins to make an upturn it is important for businesses to remain grounded in their expectations of how long it will take to get back to pre-credit crunch levels of activity.

Furthermore, firms should not expect a boom over the coming months, as recovery will probably be a more gradual process.

He commented: "The recovery is clearly patchy and the implication is that businesses have to be very cautious. Although they have to prepare for some recovery, it is not going to be a very strong recovery."

According to the results of the BCC Q4 2009 Economic Survey, there have been improvements in most key national indicators.

However, manufacturing, home orders, employment expectations and investment in plant and machinery are still in negative territory.