STOCK MARKET WATCH - Thursday, 26 January 2012

[Ghost Dog]

29. UK Retail sales suffer biggest drop in nearly 3 years - CBI

LONDON | Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:04am GMT (Reuters) - Retail sales suffered their biggest annual fall in nearly three years in January, as shoppers reined in spending after picking up pre-Christmas bargains, an industry survey showed on Thursday.

The Confederation of British Industry distributive trades survey's balance for reported sales volumes plunged to -22 in January from +9 in December, its lowest level since March 2009, when Britain was last in recession. Analysts had forecast a fall to -6.

The figures come a day after official data showing that the economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the last three months of 2011, raising fears that the country was entering recession.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/26/uk-britain-economy-idUKTRE80N0KE20120126