OPINION - If it’s hurting, it’s working, but it still sucks

At about 10:45 this morning I turned to Jonathan Prynn, the Standard’s business editor, and asked what he made of the latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) numbers. His answer was unprintable. In fairness, at fifteen minutes to deadline, I picked a bad time to bother him. But Jonathan is hardly alone in his view of the UK economy.