-
Less Need to Mind U.K. Gap Amid Record Current Account Deficit
Swelling current account deficits have often been the undoing of the U.K. economy. In the mid-1970s and late-1980s, ballooning trade gaps beyond 4 percent of gross domestic product presaged recessions and devaluations in the pound after investors concluded the Brits were living beyond their means. An unexpectedly large shortfall in May 1970 and the suggestion of economic mismanagement is even linked to the electoral defeat of Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s government though he tried to blame it on the delivery of a “couple of jumbo jets.” Now the U.K.’s deficit stands at a record 5.17 percent of GDP and its ... (full story)