UK Retailers' Confidence Collapses to 17-Year Low Before Budget
British retailers have reported the sharpest drop in confidence in 17 years and their sales fell again ahead of Wednesday's budget which is likely to include tax increases, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The Confederation of British Industry said its gauge of how retail sales compared with a year earlier worsened to -32 from -27 in October. The CBI's gauge of expected sales for the month ahead improved to -24 from -39.
But a quarterly measure of firms' business sentiment for the next three months tumbled to -35 from -10 in August, marking the weakest reading since late 2008 when global financial crisis peaked...
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