BCC signals no end to recession in Q4 - papers

A survey of 5,400 businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) concluded that while improvements were evident in some parts of the economy, momentum was not sufficient to drive a recovery in the final three months of the year.

"These figures indicate that we are not yet out of recession," said David Frost, director general of the BCC. "A lack of demand is at the heart of it. Domestically we are not seeing the level of demand required to haul us out of it," reports The Telegraph.

The report was at odds with the widely-held expectation that official figures published on January 26 will show Britain emerged from recession in the fourth quarter of 2009, with weak gross domestic product growth. See story...

The pace of house price increases slowed at the end of 2009, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has said.

Its survey for December found 30% more surveyors saw prices rise than fall during that month according to The BBC.

However, the positive balance was lower than in either October or November. See story...

Retailers have shrugged off the downturn to record their best Christmas trading figures since December 2001, but store owners are warning the buoyant sales may offer only temporary relief on the "painful road to recovery", says The Independent.

Following a series of upbeat sales updates from shops this month, the British Retail Consortium will today confirm total underlying sales rose by 4.2% in December - the sector's best festive performance since 2001. But the results are flattered by comparisons with the dire trading recorded in December 2008, and the cutting of VAT to 15% that month. See story...

Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft, has been dealt an extraordinary snub by two leading shareholders in Cadbury after trying to launch a charm offensive, according to The Times.

Ms Rosenfeld had sought to meet a number of institutional investors in the British confectionery group before next week's final deadline for Kraft to raise its hostile £10.5bn takeover bid for Cadbury. See story...