Few signs of better economy

Growth in the UK economy continues to remain elusive, according to the country's finance directors, with a third (34%) saying they have seen no improvement in business and just over half (54%) saying things are on the up.

The results of this week's Accountancy Age/Reed Accountancy Big Question survey follow strong forecasts at the beginning of the year that the UK economy was likely to see growth in 2004 of up to 3%.

Mark Blackwell, owner of MHR Consultancy, said: 'My personal worry is that the UK has the largest credit card debt in Europe and, should interest rates rise, that will cause major issues.'

Others said 2004 was seeing improvements that had not arrived in 2003.

Some put increasing business down to advantageous exchange rates. One FD said the economy was slowly getting worse: 'With price depression and excess capacity, it's the poorest quarter for a number of years.'