Recession headlines

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Good news on the uk recession

 Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. economy emerged from the worst recession on record in the fourth quarter, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent after shrinking 0.2 percent in the third quarter, the institute, whose clients include the Bank of England and the Treasury, said in an e- mailed statement today in London. The economy shrank 4.8 percent in 2009, more than any year of the Great Depression and the most since 1921, the report said.

Bank of England policy maker Andrew Sentance told the Guardian newspaper in an interview published today that the early months of recovery may “feel fragile and uncertain.” Government data today showed U.K. manufacturing unexpectedly stalled for a second month in November, suggesting the economy is struggling to shake off the slump. Read more...

Latest uk jobless figures

Latest uk jobless figures

The uk recession has claimed more jobs according to the latest jobless figures released today.

The uk jobless total has climbed to nearly 2400,000 which is a rise of 220,000 to june. This takes the jobless rate up to nearly 8% of the uk`s workforce.

Claims for unemployment benefit were the highest in 12 years, increasing by 24,900 in July to 1.58 million.

It goes without saying, that the uk economy still has a long way to go before it starts a recovery from the uk recession.

Ebay selling cars for GM

Recession car sales

Ebay.com has teamed up with general motors to sell cars and trucks in an experiment to reach new customers and help the car giant regain the lost market the recession has caused.

Starting Tuesday 11th august, eBay visitors will be able to visit Web pages like gm.ebay.com and chevy.ebay.com, where they can browse new 2008 and 2009 vehicles, ask dealers questions and figure out financing. Selected 2010 models also will be available.

UK car manufacturers have not announced any similar plans as yet, although the uk car market is far from stable.

However, not to be outdone we have added some ebay uk car listings to drool over.

Aston martin anyone?

Recession deeper than originally thought. Another £50 billion pounds deeper.

Recession NOT over

The bank of england has announced that the uk  recession is deeper than originally thought.

Despite reports that the recession is going to be over soon, the bank of england has injected another 50 billion pounds into the uk economy.

This has taken the bank`s total spending on quantitative easing to over the original £150 billion allowed by the chancellor. The new total is £175 billion.

On a brighter note. The bank has decided to keep interest rates at the current  low of  0.5%

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Deadline for LDV

LDV needs funding now!

Remaining staff at struggling van maker LDV have been sent home, after the firm applied to enter administration.

About 800 people are employed at its Birmingham factory - though most have not been working, with production halted since December last year.

Employees have been paid up to the end of last week, it said, but the firm could not confirm any further payments.

LDV said it would continue to look for funding until 6 May when it is due to formally go into administration

There are about 1,200 people employed in dealerships, and LDV estimates that "several thousand" staff are employed by its suppliers.

The company is still working with a Malaysian investor, Westar, which LDV says wants to keep production in Birmingham. But it is thought unlikely to be able to do a deal before next week's deadline.

The leader of the Unite union, Tony Woodley, called on the government to give LDV £4m in emergency aid to stave off the immediate threat of administration and give it time to reach an agreement with Westar.

"With so many skilled jobs at risk and with a genuine possibility of a buyer, if this company goes to the wall for the want of a relatively small amount money, then it would be criminal," Mr Woodley said.

'Exceptional conditions'

The firm has suffered from the broader decline in demand for commercial vehicles in the UK with registration of new LDV vans down by 73% in March from a year previously, according to the SMMT

However, it has had long-running problems and has made a loss for the last four years.

LDV said that it had been relying on the goodwill of suppliers to stay afloat, but that "the actions of a small number of suppliers" had caused the firm's position to reach a point where it had "no alternative" other than to apply for administration.

"During the past few weeks, the global economic crisis has forced us to operate in exceptional conditions and we cannot continue in this position without funding indefinitely," chief executive Evgeniy Vereshchagin said in a letter to staff.

'Worrying development'

Plans for the future of the business have included a management buy-out, with proposals to begin making electric vans from the end of the year.

The firm has held talks with UK government ministers over possible government support for the buy-out, and a bridging loan enable it to secure funding from the European Investment Bank.

Asked about the situation in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "We have tried to be of help to them."

"We have said that there is a range of government support available if they have a business model for moving forward that we can work with and be able to support."

But he reiterated that the responsibility for ensuring the firm was on a sound financial footing lay with its Russian owner Gaz and potential investors.

Last month, Erik Eberhardson, the chairman of LDV's Russian owner Gaz, said he believed that LDV could be saved and that a management buyout was the best option.

The cancellation of the 2010 British International motor show and a record drop in UK car production are the latest signs of trouble for a sector that has experienced tough times for months.