Traders: Recovery is not near
TWO thirds of traders say the economy is still at least 12 months away from recovery and have concerns over the ability of Britain’s politicians to guide the country out of the recession, according to a survey by spread-betting firm Capital Spreads.
More than a quarter of the 2,200 traders polled believed that economic stability will not be achieved for another two years, and only 4 per cent said there will be a return to economic stability within the next six months.
“The view is that green shoots will only grow into weeds,” said Capital Spreads director Simon Denham.
He said the pessimism comes amid a complete lack of confidence by the traders in the politicians currently charged with fostering an economic recovery.
Asked to choose the politician who is best placed to lead the UK out of the recession from nine options – including chancellor Alistair Darling, shadow chancellor George Osborne and Ken Clarke, the shadow secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform – the leading response with 31 per cent of the vote was “No-one”.
Tory leader David Cameron was the most trusted politician, with 28 per cent of the vote, and Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable followed closely in his wake with 21 per cent.
Labour’s most popular pick was Prime Minister Gordon Brown, although only a paltry 8 per cent of traders felt he was right for the job.
Meanwhile, personal investors are also pessimistic with 52 per cent believing we are now “in a bear-market rally” rather than a recovery, and that markets will keep falling, according to a survey by The Motley Fool.