UK is not immune to eurozone debt issues

ON UK GROWTH

UBS' Edward Peter-Hoblyn explains why he is predicting a long spell of below-trend growth.

While the UK economy could see an expansion in the second half of the year, we expect to see below-trend growth for an extended period of time. However, growth will ultimately pick up, because the negative effects of events during the first half are already largely factored into company valuations. However, we are not ruling out the possibility of the UK falling back into a technical recession in 2012. The post-war consumer boom could not last indefinitely and with the government’s austerity measures aimed at tackling fiscal debt, consumers are in a period of transition. Therefore, gi...