Britain's economy set for strong year

The Office for National Statistics has revised its GDP growth estimate for the fourth quarter, bumping up the overall 2014 figure.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised its GDP growth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2014 from 0.5% to 0.6%. That bumped up the overall 2014 figure from 2.6% to 2.8%, putting Britain further ahead of its G7 rivals. The latest survey of the manufacturing sector suggested the economy continued to pick up steam in March, while retail sales volumes (excluding fuel) were up by 5.1% year-on-year in January.

The government trumpeted the GDP figures and an uptick in household disposable income, and presented an open letter from 100 business chiefs, some ex-Labour supporters, who said the opposition would threaten Britain's recovery.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Andrew Van Sickle
Editor, MoneyWeek

Andrew is the editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of St Andrews, where he gained a first-class MA in geography & international relations.

After graduating he began to contribute to the foreign page of The Week and soon afterwards joined MoneyWeek at its inception in October 2000. He helped Merryn Somerset Webb establish it as Britain’s best-selling financial magazine, contributing to every section of the publication and specialising in macroeconomics and stockmarkets, before going part-time.

His freelance projects have included a 2009 relaunch of The Pharma Letter, where he covered corporate news and political developments in the German pharmaceuticals market for two years, and a multiyear stint as deputy editor of the Barclays account at Redwood, a marketing agency.

Andrew has been editing MoneyWeek since 2018, and continues to specialise in investment and news in German-speaking countries owing to his fluent command of the language.