Don’t believe the hype, it’s a sequel.

“Although it is fashionable to pin all the blame on the economists, I admit that these figures took me rather by surprise too. I had assumed for a while that the weak pound would have helped boost the economy more than it appears to have. The fact is it seems as if the sheer force of the credit crunch and financial crisis has been so overwhelming in the UK that even the oomph of a devaluation and quantitative easing has failed to prevent a terrific recession.”

Devaluation would have been a good idea if the UK was an isolated case but the crisis is global, same goes for the Dollar. You can try to sell all your stuff cheaper, but if there are no customers, you’re still screwed.

Strangely, the finance minister hasn’t yet decided what his battle plan will be to get it under control….

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/714276–ontario-deficit-billions-more-than-expected

“No, this is a Tobacconist, Tobacco.”

“Ah, I’ll not buy this Tobacconist, it is scratched.”

NEW YORK (AP) — American Express Co. reported its eighth straight quarter of falling profits on Thursday as consumers spent and borrowed less.

However, while the New York-based credit card company reported a 22 percent drop in earnings, it said there are signs that the decline in spending could be stabilizing and the rise in loan losses easing.

Investors viewed the report with caution, sending the stock down 34 cents to $36.10 in after-hours trading. Shares had gained $1.34, or 3.8 percent, to close regular trading at $36.44 before the report’s release.

In the U.S. card business, the percentage of loans AmEx thinks won’t be repaid rose to 8.9 percent from 5.9 percent a year earlier. However, the rate of losses slowed from 10 percent in the second quarter.

…the new reality…..

Recovery hopes dashed

“The economy now looks unlikely to grow by more than 1% at best next year. Similarly, with a huge amount of slack still building, we continue to think that deflation is a key risk.”

The long road to recovery

Tory former chancellor Lord Lamont said: “I am not surprised by this grim figure. We have a long stony road ahead. We are living on our sovereign credit card and it cannot go on indefinitely.

“The problem ahead is that the economy is dependent on the stimulus and the stimulus cannot go on forever.”

…For those of you who dislike the NYT sign in process, this is the same story, available from MSN/UK…although we are not GB, nor are we Japan, the response of government officials to the news, and their lack of any plan other than more debt is telling. I thought it interesting that the reporter also felt the French were better off than the British since they have come out a little bit sooner than the Brits. This feeling I found amusing….