Recession v2.0

I still don't believe that the 'first' recession has ended yet, however, even if you allow for a brief period of taxpayer stimulated 'growth', the next collapse into contraction is only moments away. But don't take my word for it. That's according to this Guardian report (yes, Guardian report), citing the talisman trader, Jim Rogers' predictions.

Fears of a double-dip recession and a sterling crisis in the run-up to the election were raised last night amid news of collapsing investment in British industry and a warning from one of the world's leading financiers that the pound could plummet within weeks.

The pound fell sharply on the foreign exchange markets after a day of grim economic news which saw an admission from RBS that it had missed government targets for business lending, a downgrading of the UK growth prospects by the European commission and a warning from the CBI that consumer spending was likely to remain weak ahead of polling day.

Sterling, already down by a cent against the dollar following the release of official figures showing capital expenditure plunging by almost a quarter between late 2008 and late 2009, saw its losses doubled after Jim Rogers, the former business partner of speculator George Soros, said sterling was a potential "basket case".

The rest of the article hardly makes for happier reading, either, at least if you're a Brownite, I suppose. If you're a realist, (like Rogers - and lots of other people), then you'll know that after Brown bet the Bank of England on spending his way to the winning of, finally, a mandate to ruin govern Britain, there is now nowhere else to go for him, his party and for the entire country but down the debt plughole. Labourists, of course, will be reading the article too, and may be (maybe already have been) convinced that from here on in, with Labour somehow narrowing the gap in a few polls (though they'd be very foolish to trust them), things can only get worse.

More reason to believe Guido's mysterious BBC source, then, who said that the election will be called this weekend.

Bring it on (finally).