Recession...

It's nearly official. Pending official data that's due to be released by the end of the week, the UK is in recession.

After Mervyn King's speech last night on the gloomy outlook, the pound plunged - it currently stands at RM5.98 to a pound, in contrast to the RM7 when we first got here in Aug 2006!

Judging from all the news in the media, the outlook is bleak indeed. Retailers are bracing themselves for a horrible Christmas spending season, unemployment has risen in its most drastic in 17 years, manufacturing confidence has fallen to its worst in 22 years. House prices continue to drop as well as sales of houses, while mortgages continue to go up despite the rate cuts.

How much more darker can it get?

What remains to be seen is how consumer perception will affect their actions; they are likely to pull back further on spending and conserve whatever resources they have, but that would definitely not bode well for the economy. Looks like more pain to come...this is full-blown!