Private wealth 'at risk of double-dip recession'

Private wealth and commercial assets are at risk of a double-dip recession, one expert has warned.

Dr Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist for IHS Global Insight, argued the private sector still hasn’t recovered from the global downturn and will be unable to make up for the shortfall of employment left by a rapid drop in public sector jobs.

This could affect individuals with private wealth due to factors such as falling income or reduced liquidity.

Offshore banking might be one way to avoid low interest returns on UK savings and bonds, as foreign financial havens may not have the articifially depressed base rate currently imposed by the Bank of England.

’There has been the argument all along that with any increase of fiscal tightening now … you are taking a bit of a risk with the growth outlook,’ noted Dr Archer.

Geoffrey Dicks, senior official at the Office of Budget Responsibility, recently told the Treasury’s select committee current austerity measures put Britain at greater risk of a double-dip recession. ADNFCR-2318-ID-19891224-ADNFCR