Oh Dear!

We now know that both Germany and France enjoyed an output growth in the second quarter this year (April to June). It was small, admittedly, - only 0.3%, but nonetheless a growth, suggesting that they have turned the corner and are recovering.

How did the UK economy perform, given that G. Brown reckoned earlier that we were best placed of all for recovery? The answer is that the UK economy shrank still further, that national output was down 0.8%, and in the second quarter we were still in recession.

The saviour of world banking does not seem quite to able at restoring growth to his own economy.