BCC urges caution

Date: 13th January 2010

A business group has warned firms in the UK not to become complacent and to continue to be careful as the economy is still fragile.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that although business confidence is likely to increase in the coming months, recovery is expected to be "patchy".

David Kern, chief economist at the organisation, noted that any economic revival will be a slow process and not without interruptions and halts.

He added: "Although [firms] have to prepare for some recovery, it is not going to be a very strong recovery.

"They have to make sure they have enough cash, they mustn't expect a boom. We are going to go in the right direction but it is going to be very shallow and slow."

New figures from the BCC indicate that there were improvements in most areas of the economy in the fourth quarter of 2009, but that these developments do not offer evidence of a return to growth.