It is almost five years since the credit crunch began to hit the world’s economies. As it developed, the crunch quickly proved that no country was immune, with banks having to be bailed out by their national governments. Economic activity was severely hit in the UK, the US, the eurozone and in other major centres as firms found it hard – if not impossible – to get finance. The effects of the crunch can still be felt today.
The latest Lloyds TSB Scotland Business Monitor shows the recovery in the Scottish economy has yet to pick up pace. In fact, it even shows a slight deterioration in the rate of recovery in the last quarter. But looking forward, the 400 firms in the survey say their “expectations are showing a significant uplift, reducing the likelihood of a return to recession”.
The Business Monitor says that firms' assessments of their immediate prospects in the next six months have improved dramatically – and the bank believes there are signs of optimism for the Scottish and UK economies. The Caledonian Mercury spoke to the bank’s chief economist, Professor Donald Macrae, for his estimate on how Scotland plc is performing.
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