UK will avoid double dip recession: CBI

Britain will avoid a double dip recession and modest growth should restart later this year, according to the CBI.

The business lobby group thinks the UK will avoid an official recession - two quarters of declines in a row - by bouncing back from its 0.2% fall in Q4 2011 to growth of 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012. It predicts another 0.2% rise in the second quarter of this year before speeding up a little later in 2012. Overall, it expects growth of 0.9% in 2012 and 2% next year and highlights the fact companies are starting to invest in new equipment and finding new export markets, the BBC reports. However, consumers and households face a subdued outlook due to high unemployment and squeez...