Details his killing of 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan
By David Milliken
LONDON (Reuters) -British manufacturers are starting 2023 on the back foot, after they reported one of their sharpest falls in activity since the 2008-09 recession last month, reflecting a sharp fall in new orders and ongoing job cuts.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) sank to 45.3 in December from 46.5 in November, its lowest since May 2009 apart from two months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Tuesday's reading was stronger than an initial estimate of 44.7 released last month, but well below the 47.8 reported in the equivalent euro zone survey on Monday.
"Output contracted at one of the quickest rates during the past 14 years, as new order inflows weakened," S&P director Rob Dobson said. "The decline in new business was worryingly steep, as weak domestic demand was accompanied by a further marked drop in new orders from overseas."
The figures broadly chime with a gloomy outlook issued last month by trade association Make UK, who forecast output in the sector would fall 3.2% in 2023. The latest official data shows factory output in October was 4.6% lower than a year before.
"These results are the latest in a series of weak indicators … which suggest that GDP likely fell again in Q4 2022. Furthermore, with the squeeze on household and corporate finances set to continue, the situation is unlikely to improve in the near future," said Martin Beck, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
Government budget forecasters predicted in November that the British economy as a whole would shrink 1.4% this year as businesses and households continue to face high inflation.
Separately, chief financial officers at major British companies reckon that higher interest rates mean now is the worst time for companies to borrow since the financial crisis 14 years ago, according to a quarterly survey from Deloitte.
Manufacturers in the monthly PMI survey were slightly more upbeat about the year ahead. Expectations of future output rose to a five-month high as supply chain difficulties became less acute and inflation pressures fell to the lowest since late 2020.
But factories still cut jobs by the most since October 2020, as orders fell from both domestic customers and clients in China, the United States, mainland Europe and Ireland.
"The main driver of lost export contracts was weak global economic conditions, while there was also mention of Brexit-related issues, such as shipping delays and higher costs, leading some EU clients to source products elsewhere," survey compiler S&P Global said.
(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Catherine Evans)
A delegation of 160 Ukrainian start-ups is attending CES 2023 in Las Vegas to showcase new ideas and technological solutions while also flying the flag for the country's business sector.
Putin proposes 36-hour ceasefire to mark Orthodox Christmas; Ukraine says ‘temporary truce’ only possible when Russia leaves occupied territory
Jenny Green offers to exhibit her private collection at Museo Ruso, a Russian art museum
Lost Labrador Gracie was spotted by Border Collie cross Lottie.
A HOSPICE in North Yorkshire has landed a £3,000 cash boost from a local property company.
The chairman of the newspaper regulator, Ipso, said press regulation ‘applies just as much to the royal family as it does to anybody else’.
Some supporters were heard using homophobic language against Everton manager Frank Lampard, who previously played for and managed Chelsea, British media reports said. "We stand firmly against all forms of discrimination and we are striving to ensure our game is a safe environment for all, which truly embraces diversity and challenges hateful conduct both on and off the pitch," an FA spokesperson said.
An East Renfrewshire nightclub is closing its doors following post-pandemic struggles.
Cancer vaccine trials will start in the UK this year after the Government signed a deal with BioNTech, the company that created the mRNA technology behind the Pfizer Covid jab.
Two men have been hanged for allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during protests, Iranian authorities have said. All have had quick, closed-door trials that Western governments and human rights groups say are a sham. The judiciary's Mizan news agency said they had been convicted of killing Seyed Ruhollah Ajamian, part of the Revolutionary Guard's volunteer Basij force.
Wave of violence broke out in state of Sinaloa after government arested Ovidio Guzman
A man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap after a vulnerable pensioner went missing nearly three weeks ago. Timothy Hatcher, 69, was last seen on 18 December at a Co-op store in Chelmsford in Essex. Mr Hatcher, who has dementia and receives support from carers, was reported missing two days later.
Of course the physical altercations with his brother William, Harry's use of drugs and how he learned of his mother's death are all headline makers – but taking a look at the book as a whole, it is a sad, self-indulgent and naive figure that the Duke cuts.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly felt like he had to say ‘goodbye’ to his brother during the 2011 wedding.
A power cut is affecting 104 homes and businesses in Blackburn.
HAVING overseen a failed £20m, 12-year project aimed at persuading two Giant Pandas to breed, executives at Edinburgh Zoo have decided to turn their long farewell into a circus.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting also said he would stop GPs being ‘the sole gatekeeper’ to the NHS.
Close to half-a-million people have taken out private health insurance over the past year, The Telegraph can reveal, with the NHS increasingly struggling to provide basic care for patients in the wake of Covid-19.
The Marvel actor shared an update on his progress on his Instagram story on Friday, the day before his 52nd birthday.
One of "the world's most wanted" human traffickers is arrested in Sudan. Eritrean-national Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam is accused of leading a criminal organisation that abducts, extorts and murders migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. UN intelligence reports suggest M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo have not pulled back from key areas around Lake Kivu. And a good year for African startups – they raised a record 5 billion euros last year… but the future might not be all rosy.Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Mali junta pardons 49 Ivorian soldiers whose detention sparked diplomatic row‘Tirailleurs’: France’s forgotten colonial soldiers step out of the shadowsBenin: Civil society leaders running in elections hope to influence decision making