Business Investment Collapses in Britain
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Britain's economy shrank even more dramatically than previously thought in the second half of last year, official statistics are expected to reveal today, after the latest data from the Office of National Statistics showed a disastrous fall in business investment during the final months of 2008.
The ONS said yesterday that business investment in the final quarter of last year was 3.9 per cent lower than in the previous quarter and 7.7 per cent down on the same period of 2007. The slump in investment was particularly marked in the manufacturing sector, where the corresponding figures were 11 per cent and 15.7 per cent. Business investment also fell sharply during the third quarter of last year.