Growth hits 0.5% in Q3 — a nation shrugs

Pot Head

"I still reckon that we oughtn't get especially worked up about these quarterly figures anyway."

What about getting worked up about the fact that the UK economy has only grown 0.4% in total over the last 15 months vs 3% predicted in Osborne's 2010 deficit reduction plan?

Greenslime

I think I just heard Balls say 'Bugger!'

AlastairX

"Stir in the rising cost of living"

Um. The figures say GDP by volume (real GDP) went up. That means our standard of living went up, after adjusting for changes in prices. You can't "stir in" price changes, they already did that.

Pete Hoskin

AlastairX: I was being more figurative than that, but have edited the text to avoid confusion. Thanks.

Hexhamgeezer

You're right, it's not econopocalyptical.

Hexhamgeezer

Osbourne and Darling's growth predictions are like the BoE's inflation 'target'; not meant to be taken seriously by anyone that matters, but hopefully creating a good enough smokescreen for the meeja and electorate.

toco

The odious Ed Cooper/Balls is going to be terribly upset after having sown the seeds of our economic demise with his boss Gordon(I have put an end to boom and bust') Brown.

Julian F

Growth is growth. Astounding that we can achieve any positive numbers given the current debt-overhang. Difficult for Balls to make any political capital out of this, especially given the dire global picture. Dare we whisper that the so-called "austerity measures" are not having any real effect on the economy in the short term and, in the long-term, are an absolute necessity that will create conditions for stronger growth at a later date? Who'd have thought it?

Raffles

Its no time to celebrate but given whats going on in the Eurozone, and its about to get much worse by the way, and how the likes of the BBC talk down the economy endlessly, this is actually quite a decent and surprising figure. Balls will be furious.

Jayu

What do today's growth figures tell us? They tell us that when it comes to deficit reduction, the government are way off target. Which in turn also means further tax rises and spending cuts, if the government are serious about eliminating the deficit in this parliament.

Fatbloke on tour

PH

I take it you always get sloppy seconds.
Could Trevor not be bothered to knock up his usual economics tripe - cuts what cuts?

Oh well, what can you say?
The headline figure is better than I was expecting.
Q2 bounce back is the line from the ONS.
That said the economic slope / outlook looks weak and getting weaker.

Add in the fact that this figure is the first cut with another two updates due then it will bean interesting 8 weeks.

First cut =

July - Mature data
August - First cut data.
September - Guess based on the previous two months.

With the bounce back being a July thing.
Add in the stay cation boom in August.
Euro turmoil in September ...

Consequently what would the betting be on the figures being revised down?

Maybe when that happens Trevor will be on hand to mangle economics one more time.

TrevorsDen

Whose Trevor?

What more proof do we need to see fatbloke knows nothing of which he speaks.

The world is in a mess and Greece is about to kick it in the bollocks.

As someone says - growth is growth and given labours mess we should be grateful for what we get.

Growth forecasts now are by independent, they may be wrong but they are independently produced. We can be be more reliant on their independence than we can of 'BESTs' efforts to manipulate climate data.

FvH

Assuming we're in for 10 years of stagflation (if we're lucky)do Coffee Housers have any tips on the best place for investments etc??

Sir Everard Digby

FatBloke,

'The headline figure is better than I was expecting'

That is because You have proven your unique forecasting skills on numerous occasions. The result continues to be dodgier predictions than a climate change scientist. Or are you one? it would explain a lot. Either that,or Ed Balls' economic advisor.

oldtimer

Taking the period covered by your chart, the cumulative qtr on qtr GDP changes are a -4.1% decline. That is very significant. On present evidence it looks as though it will another two to three years to get back to where your chart starts, if not longer depending on events in Europe.

Chris lancashire

FvH: Gold.

Hexhamgeezer

FvH

Gas and oil and Tesco

Fatbloke on tour

SED'dy

Oh ye of little faith.
We still have the revisions to work through.
The big money is on the Q3 growth figure going down.

We are currently looking at 0.5% growth over 12 months.
Not realin a ringing endorsement of Sniffy's economic competence is it?
He is dog boiling for all his worth and the plebs get more and more frightened. Add in the EU shambles and we really are now in trouble.

Big change regarding our place in the EU / world.

GB actually got things done.
Dave the Rave can't even get an invite to the table.

Rivere

@ FvH

National Savings Certificates.
They will give you a near risk free percentage over the RPI tax free. I managed to get 1% over a year ago and saw some further ones issued this summer offering 0.5% over. You can only get a certain amount of course (30K I think) but a lovely investment at present. Of course if inflation drops next year it will not be quite as good. In the mean time enjoy 6.3% tax free on your savings.

Holly ......

Fat bod!
Can you enlighten us on what Bozo actually got done?

Apart from a massive input of UK taxpayers money into banks, the 90m borrowed/printed or whatever, just prior the GE..OH & not forgetting the bollocks signed by Darling on the Sunday, AFTER the GE, signing us up to the Europe dogs dinner bailout bollocks?

Got tons done did old Bozo & his two halfwit fools, who now just happen to be Leader & Chancellor of the loser party.

I would also be chuffed if you'd enlighten us on PRECISELY how much,the miserly, just above 1% growth cost the taxpayer....much hailed by Labour bods, yet no mention of the cost....A few BILLION I recall.

This lot are even worse than the last lot, Oh bugger....They ARE the last lot.
Tee hee...

FvH

@chrislancashire, @hexhamgeezer and @Rivere - many thanks - very interesting - food for thought

daniel maris

However many times does it need to be said:

0.5% "growth" adds nothing to people's wealth if the population has grown by 0.5% in one year (which it has).

On a per capita basis (what really matters to people) we are flatlining - or worse, since each net immigrant needs a huge investment in terms of infrastructure and so on.

Paddy

Why is it that whenever 'good' news is announced.....the Fatbloke feels the need to post his usual drivel.

Ed Balls was a bit late making his appearance this morning. Is he having problems persuading the newsrooms of his 5 point plan.

It's getting a bit boring now the same old lines 'flat-lining' and cutting 'too deep' and 'too fast'.....with a big smile on his face. He and his buddy Gordon spent all the money.

Simon Stephenson.

Paddy : 7.32pm

"Why is it that whenever 'good' news is announced.....the Fatbloke feels the need to post his usual drivel."

This is standard propaganda strategy for the left. Whenever events are such that free observation is contradictory to their desired impression, they flood the airwaves with propaganda so as to distract the hoi polloi from the actual events taking place. So leftist propaganda is at its highest under an "approved" regime when things are going badly (viz the Brown premiership, after the first few months), whereas under a "disapproved" regime the propaganda crescendos when events might othewise meet with public approval.

To the left, the big battle is one of process - it's about ensuring that power is given only to those with the "right" ideology, irrespective of their capacity and competence for using this power in a way that is beneficial to the people they represent. It's as though they believe that a genius with the "wrong" ideology must be less capable of contributing good to society than is a dunderhead with the "right" ideology.