Charles Bean says consumers face a "Wile E. Coyote" moment
Former BOE Deputy Governor and current UK government forecaster Charles Bean is warning that households are on the brink of realizing that incomes are slowing and could quickly tighten spending and that could lead to "quite a sharp slowdown."
Bean spoke with the FT and said the climate of Brexit negotiations would signal to consumers how tight (or lose) they could be with their money.
Bean is currently produces the forecasts for the Office for Budget Responsibility and predicted 2% growth this year, but H1 GDP was at +0.5% compared to his +0.9% estimate. He said the crucial question was if business investment and exports could pick up the slack from sluggish consumption.
