UK GDP: Britain's growth expected to weaken; France's economy slows - business live
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Version 0 of 18. 6.41am BST 06:41 The agenda: A bonanza of growth figures Good morning. We’re about to get a deluge of economic data that will show how some of the world’s largest economies have performed in 2017. Growth figures from Britain, America, France and Spain are all being released over the next seven hours. And for different reasons, they should all be fascinating. Britain’s GDP report will be pored over for signs that Brexit is hurting the economy. Economists expect growth to have slowed in January-March to around 0.4% to 0.5%, down from 0.7% in October-December 2016. France’s figures will highlight the scale of the challenge facing either Emmanuel Macron or Marine Le Pen. Spain’s data will show whether the eurozone’s battered periphery is still recovering.... First batch of EZ Q1 GDP numbers out today. I fear a big hit from net trade in France, don't tell Le Pen ;). Spain? 0.7%-to-0.8% as usual? And America’s growth figures are the first school report since Donald Trump became US president. And the bad news is that economists predict a slowdown, as consumers cut back. Frugal U.S. consumers seen holding back first-quarter GDP Here’s the timings: France: Just released Spain: 8am BST UK: 9.30am BST United States: 1.30pm BST It’s also going to be a busy morning in the banking sector, with Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland reporting results... Updated at 6.45am BST |