"Economy stable for next 2 years then return to recession."

"slow growth for the next year hopefully, but then?"

"The whole situation is very fragile and is dependent on the balance between interest rates and exchange rates."

"I believe that we are heading into a recession which will hit hard during the next 2 years. My company is currently preparing marketing plans on this basis"

"Believe the combined effects of Asia market, high pound and prohibited interest rates are not being addressed by the Bank of England and the Government. If active measures are not taken (even if it means short term inflation higher than desired) then the advantages the UK have taken over its European competitors in the past 5 years will be lost. Already we are seeing the French and Germans regaining lost ground."

"The economy of the North East is probably going to be worse than the rest of the country, closures like Siemens will have a devastating effect"

"We fear a deep recession is on the way & will be quicker and faster than any other recession before."

"The recession has already began. Business leads in general are low and companies are not taking on consultants to implement Quality Systems. Some of our work is abroad in the EU and our clients there are already putting back or delaying contracts. I have started to look for a permanent job but despite several interviews I am not being offered jobs even though I am adequately qualified. The existing high bank rate is also affecting business as costs are rising but prices for work are being suppressed."

"The UK Government is not concerned about the UK economy it is only concerned about getting us into Economic and Monetary Union. A High interest rate is necessary because it does two main things: It forces us into "convergence" i.e. it drives our economy into the same dire position as the German economy and it means that the UK Government can dangle the carrot of low interest rates in front of us as an enticement to join. Once we are in EMU interest rates will be reduced so that, in the short term it will be perceived as a "Good Thing", to immediate electoral advantage. They don't care what happens in the medium and long term - crippling regulation, VAT, corporate and personal tax harmonisation (i.e. increases)..."

"The lack of commitment to Monetary Union is likely to have a negative influence on UK participation in EU markets and indeed in global markets. Wales is making strong efforts to increase the exporting activity of its Small and Medium Enterprises and the monetary situation is likely to prove a significant barrier to trade. If the economy goes into recession, this is likely once more to hit Wales badly, but unfortunately after the negotiations for the Structural Funds post 2000. We may well find ourselves with considerable less EU funded support than currently but in at least as bad an economic situation as three years ago."

"most opinion is negative - a British trait of following self fulfilling prophecies. The media is responsible for this, it's about time people looked for positive signs instead of always looking for the negative"

"As an export oriented business we are suffering badly both in terms of sales volumes and margins as a result of the failure of the current government to address the macro economic management of the economy in an intelligent manner, and the consequent rises in interest rates and in the value of sterling. Whilst we are managing to ride out the problems that these cause, it is far from evident whether we have yet seen the worst and I fear for the continuing buoyancy of the UK market as the impact of the current levels of interest rates has its impact on the domestic economy."

"Because I work with companies in different sectors of the economy and also have contact with others involved with printing and promotion I have discovered that there is a general belief that recession is already making itself felt. Certainly business confidence is lower than at any time in the last three years. Additionally there is now much spare capacity in the printing industry - a sure sign that companies are cutting back on promotional expenditure."

"Under the present government prospects generally are better than they have been for many years."

"The weather, the World Cup, the strength of sterling and now the economic problems in the east and Russia make the UK holiday industry extremely weak not to mention the pending recession. Can we survive?"

"I have two clients in industries associated with the construction industry, and both have noticed a significant slowdown in demand already, I have also got another client involved in counselling training, and their intake has halved for this year. I have another contact in the packaging industry supplying various commodity companies, and there growth has stopped, and they have shut down one plant as a result."

"General attitudes seem extremely gloomy over a very diverse group of businesses. Expectations are for gloom and doom, yet for many it does not seem to have happened yet. Whilst our business is not quite as good as last year we are consolidating at present and are content with the stability of the current level. Many suppliers are very worried about their medium term position - hence the comment."

"I suspect there may be a reluctance to spend as more businesses become cautious due mainly to: high interest rates, Russian and Far East (Japan/Malaysia, etc.) Crises"

"Unless we are very careful we'll talk our way into negative growth. The indicators are still very strong and I believe they will continue for the next twelve months, but by talking down the economy we will build up a lack of confidence which will have a direct effect on the markets"

"Given the state of the global economy, if they insist on going ahead with EMU we are likely to find that the UK pays even more for the profligacy of the other EU countries. Perhaps the Chancellor and the EU idealogues should consider the following: Dakota Indian tribal wisdom says that when you discover you are riding a colloquial dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in modern organizations, we often try other strategies with dead horses, including the following:

• buying a stronger whip
• changing riders
• saying things like "This is the way we always have ridden this horse"
• appointing a committee to the study the horse
• arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses
• increasing the standards to ride dead horses
• appointing a tiger team to revive the dead horses
• creating a training session to increase our riding ability
• comparing the state of dead horses in today's environment
• passing a resolution declaring: "This horse is not dead"
• blaming the horses' ancestry
• harnessing several dead horses for increased speed
• declaring that "No horse is too dead to beat"
• providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance
• do a study to see if contractors can ride it cheaper
• declare the horse is better, faster and cheaper dead
• form a quality circle to find uses for dead horses
• revisit the performance requirements for dead horses
• say that this horse was procured with cost as the independent variable
• promote the dead horse to a supervisory position

Apologies for the frivolity on this very serious matter!"

"Especially in the North East of England"

"Even with the Russian & Far East collapse, people will still carry on regardless, in the main"

"Recession is often a self fulfilling prophecy! If people talked about it less and got on with creating the right economic environment it would be much less likely."

"The biggest inhibiting factor for the UK as compared with the rest of Europe is the lack of progress in the move towards the single currency. As a company we will be adopting the Euro as the base currency for all pricing and planning purposes as of January 1 1999 and will be operating a Euro bank account in order to ensure we keep pace with European clients and suppliers."

"Costs must be cut in the wealthfair state"