[Crimson Dynamo]

“Britain ended last year as the strongest of the world’s advanced economies with growth accelerating in the six months after the Brexit vote, it was revealed overnight,” Philip Aldrick reports for The Australian (from an article in the Sunday Times). “Business activity hit a 17-month high last month, meaning that the economy grew by 2.2 per cent last year — more than the six other leading nations, including the US, Germany and Japan.”

“Far from slowing after the referendum in June, as predicted by the Treasury and Bank of England, growth appeared to have improved,” Aldrick reports. “GDP grew at 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent in the first two quarters of last year, compared with 0.6 per cent and an estimated 0.5 per cent in the final period.”

“Andrew Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, suggested that economic forecasters were facing a ‘Michael Fish moment’ over their mistaken predictions, referring to the BBC weather forecaster. Mr Haldane, comparing the profession’s failure to spot the 2008 recession to Mr Fish’s infamous assurance of ‘no hurricane’ on the eve of the great storm of 1987, said: ‘It’s a fair cop to say that the profession is to some degree in crisis,'” Aldrick reports. “Steve Baker, the Brexit-supporting MP, said that the performance of the economy since the referendum was a reproach to those who warned of dire consequences. ‘This is another moment to reflect that the horror stories that we were told simply didn’t come to pass,’ he said.”

“Britain’s robust performance means the economy heads into 2017 on solid ground. James Knightley, UK economist at ING Financial Markets, said that it ‘indicates that the UK economy has strong momentum,” Aldrick reports. “The purchasing managers’ index survey of business activity across the services, construction and manufacturing industries also pointed to further hiring by companies. Recruitment across all three industries accelerated at the fastest pace in 11 months and, in a positive sign for the months ahead, new orders in the services sector, which accounts for four fifths of the economy, hit a 17-month high.”

http://macdailynews.com/2017/01/06/b...-after-brexit/