Crystal ball gazing...Seven predictions for 2012

CRYSTAL BALL GAZING

World First's chief economist Jeremy Cook looks ahead to what might happen in 2012, including paying the price for 10 years of excess, the creation of the United States of Europe, and problems on an Olympian scale.

1. The UK economy will not enter a double-dip recession The UK economy, like the economies in most developed nations, is struggling along at the moment with little cause for optimism in the short term. We expect the two toughest quarters for the economy will be Q4 this year and Q1 of 2012 as consumer spending slows, business investment remains weak and government spending cuts continue. I expect growth will be timid in Q4 (0.1%) and predict a fall in Q1 by around 0.2%. However, the slow grind higher will restart as we head towards the summer. Forgive me for coming across as ove...