Britain Close to Recession

The Bank of England has warned that the global financial slowdown was likely to send the British economy into a recession. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has echoed this warning and a similar one from a key think tank. He said the global slowdown was likely to cause “recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and - because no country can insulate itself from it - Britain too”. He also said the British banking system had been closer to collapse earlier this month than at any time since the start of World War I.

Concerns about the British economy have pushed the pound to a five-year low against the US dollar.