UK firms tell Rishi Sunak: Time running out to save UK plc from perfect storm

theguardian.com:

Rishi Sunak has been warned the government is running out of time to save the economy amid a rapidly worsening growth outlook and soaring inflation hitting businesses.

The director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Shevaun Haviland, said the chancellor urgently needed to announce a package of financial support for firms struggling with a “perfect storm” of rising energy prices, chronic staff shortages and supply chain problems.

“They need to put in place support for businesses now,” she told the business group’s annual conference in London. “We are on limited time. The government has until the autumn budget to reset, rethink and get their house in order.”

Britain’s economy is coming under severe pressure with inflation at the highest rate since 1982, with the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, warning the country was facing a worse slowdown than many of its global rivals. Already at 9.1% in May, inflation is forecast to peak above 11% this autumn.

Economists at Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday the chances of a UK recession had risen, coming closer to 50-50. Analysts at the US investment bank warned: “We think a recession is more likely in the UK than in the euro area (40%) and the US (30%), and recession risks are more front-loaded in the UK with the current quarter likely in contractionary territory.”

Speaking in an interview with Haviland at the BCC’s annual conference, Sunak said the government would announce a fresh round of investment incentives to support companies at the autumn budget.

“We know how important business investment will be to our recovery, so we want to make sure that the autumn budget will continue to support that,” he said.

The chancellor said the government was working on plans to