UK economy comes to a standstill -BBC

UK economic growth ground to a halt between April and June, according to the latest official figures.

The Office for National Statistics said the economy stalled, showing no growth from the first quarter of 2008.

It ends a run of more than 15 years of consecutive growth in the UK and will raise expectations of a rate cut.

The 0% growth figure was down from an earlier estimate of 0.2% and lower than the 0.3% growth recorded in the first three months of 2008.

Friday's figures showed that the services sector, the backbone of the UK economy, grew just 0.2%, while manufacturing output fell by 0.8%. Household spending dropped by 0.1%.

Exports also fell as Europe, the UK's main trading partner, saw growth contract in the same period.

The UK economy grew 1.4% from the second quarter of 2007, revised down from an initial estimate of 1.6%.

"The figures are very weak and suggest the UK economy is already in recession," said George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank.

The economy technically enters a recession when it shrinks for two consecutive quarters.
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