Weale: Risk of UK double dip has increased

The risk of another UK recession is higher now than in recent months, according to Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale, who expects the economy to contract in the final quarter of 2011.

"Obviously there is the risk of another recession and it is higher than one might have thought a few months ago," Weale said in an interview with Channel 4 television. "But I have always said that it was quite impossible to say that a double dip could not happen," he said in the interview. According to Weale, Britain's economy may shrink in Q4 as the euro crisis hits business and investor confidence. "Looking at the economy at the moment, I think the problems of the euro area and the knock-on consequences for our banks, for business confidence, for the way consumers feel about thin...