It’s pretty much accepted now that the UK economy is headed for tough times. Even Alastair Darling, whose glasses must be so rosy that he has trouble telling red from green, expects negative economic growth in 2009, with all the misery of business failures and redundancies that this will bring.
Frugality is the new craze sweeping the nation; or at least it seems to be.
Asda CEO Andy Bond has reported a 40 per cent increase in sales of cooking ingredients, alongside a similar drop in the sale of certain ready meals. The Daily Telegraph is printing recipe ideas to help its readers make the most of their leftovers.
“The bigger the boom, the bigger the bust,” so the saying goes; it’s 18 years since the UK economy last recorded negative growth so the boom looks pretty big in retrospect. The bust has so far lived up to this billing with banking bailouts, stock market crashes and a housing market in freefall.