Caution for U.K.'s financial center
U.K. business group CBI says confidence is returning to London's financial center, but analysts are cautious about talk of recovery. Stephen Beard reports.
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STEVE CHIOTAKIS: Confidence is returning to London's financial center. That at least is the upbeat message today from the U.K.'s main business group known as the CBI. But many analysts remain cautious about recovery talk. Our man in London, Stephen Beard, has more.
STEPHEN BEARD: The financial services sector in London is more optimistic than it has been in two years. The industry expects revenues to rise between now and September. That's after seven quarters of sharp declines. The CBI says banks, brokers and insurance companies may be on the gradual road to recovery. But the group is far from euphoric. It says the banks remain mired in debt. And financial firms are still laying off staff. The group says another 13,000 jobs could go in the next three months.
David Buik is with the BGC Money Broking Group. He says financial services cannot recover while house prices continue to fall:
DAVID BUIK: You need to have every body's main asset to stop falling in value. And for the unemployment line to stop lengthening before we can actually say: We're underway again.
The CBI itself predicts that U.K. unemployment won't peak until the second quarter of next year.
In London this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
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