New car sales fell 36.8% in November from a year before, the biggest such drop since 1980, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said
It called for urgent action to ease credit, both for car buyers and the industry itself.
UK shop prices rose 2.7% in the year to November, slowing from 3% growth the prior month, the British Retail Consortium said.
The BRC urged the Bank of England to cut interest rates by 100bps tomorrow, to 2.0%, following its 150bps cut in November.
The output prices index fell to a (mildly) contractionary 49.2 from 51.6 in October. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The sub-indices for expectations, jobs and new business were all at survey lows. Data collection began in 1996.
Nationwide’s consumer confidence survey for the UK fell to a fresh low in November. The index fell six points to 50, the lowest since Nationwide started collecting data in May 2004.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Fionnuala Earley, cited fears over the weakening economy and associated job losses for the drop in confidence.
Merger and acquisition activity shrank markedly in the third quarter of the year, official figures showed.
Foreign companies’ acquisitions in the UK totalled GBP 2.9bln, down from 19bln in the second quarter.
Acquisitions by UK companies in this country fell to GBP 3.9bln from 9.3bln.
Records, as collected by the Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply, began in 1997. October’s construction PMI — which measures activity in the building sector — was 35.1. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.