U.K. Unemployment Less Than Forecast, BOE Says Slump Easing

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. unemployment rose less than economists forecast in May and the Bank of England said the risk of a deeper slump has receded, the latest evidence to indicate the economy is past the worst.

Claims for jobless benefits rose 39,300 to 1.54 million in May, the smallest increase since July last year, the Office for National Statistics said today. Economists predicted a gain of 60,000, the median of 28 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey shows. Separately, the Bank of England said in London “the risk of a continued sharp contraction” has “receded somewhat.”

Signs are mounting that the U.K.’s economy is recovering from the worst recession since 1979, with manufacturing activity rising for a second month in April and services activity expanded for the first time in a year last month. At the same time, the Bank of England said in minutes of its June 4 policy meeting published today it’s too soon to say that its emergency money-printing program is working.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMYAUsXloitQ

Printing press is doing miracles...

 

Always nice to see better than expected unemployment data, if for no other reason other than a confidence boost.

 

Yes, and this is the central strategy of the fed and the central bank of england - if you can't prove the economy is improving, let alone not continuing to deteriorate, try and construct a shell game to trick people and boost their confidence, so those that can will spend whatever money they have.

At the same time, credit card companies will take as little as 7 cents on the dollar to get deadbeats (who've been living in homes while not making any mortgage or property tax payments) to pay off their severely delinquent balances and they can close their accounts.

 

I see you subscribe to the "every report the government releases must be lies and manipulation in order to trick the public" theory...

To each his own I suppose.

 

BOE may keep it monetary policies unchanged for sometime seeing the improvements!
Btw, May's CPI came in above market expectation again, probably overshoot BOE's forecasts this quarter again!

 

Home prices in the UK are starting to go back up again which is something that I have a hard time comprehending but it is happening.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090617-716641.html

 

But then again... Here comes Danny with a punchy headline:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...een-shoots-Strictly-for-the-colour-blind.html