Surprise drop in UK manufacturing raises risk of longer recession

LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturing output posted an unexpected fall in April, raising the risk of a longer recession and turning up pressure on policymakers to take action to boost economic growth.

Unemployment jumped by 70,000 in the three months to the end of February, amid the lowest growth in pay rises since 2001, as pressure mounts on George Osborne to adopt a more aggressive growth strategy, reports The Guardian.

Manufact

The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a 15-month high of 51.4 in December from an upwardly revised 49.2 in November – a far stronger increase than any predicted in a Reuters poll of 24 economists.

British manufacturing sector saw its biggest monthly decline in almost a year in February

GERMANY had a very good 2011. Its economy grew by 3% on the year, helping bring unemployment down from nearly 7% to just 5.5% (as of November). No other large, developed economy performed nearly as well.