Globetrotting puts 'official' figures into perspective (daily propaganda from Goldman Sachs)

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article6927651.ece ^ | 11/23/09 | Jim O’Neill

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November 23, 2009

Globetrotting puts 'official' figures into perspective

One constant surprise for me is the emotional state of the discussions I encounter about the health of the UK economy

Jim O’Neill

For much of the period since the end of the summer, I have been travelling around the world for my exciting but demanding job. I have been to Brazil, China, twice, once on a very long trip, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey and to many places in Europe. One constant surprise for me is the emotional state of the discussions I encounter about the health of the UK economy.

To a large extent, this is actually more a function of the emotional state of the UK inside the UK itself, which, through the words of our most important figureheads and our media, gets transmitted to the world. With a bit of luck, we shall return to a more balanced state of affairs in 2010, even though it will be an election year.

Often these days I appear to be thought of as the eternal optimist, occasionally regarded as some kind of delusional commentator who is removed from the real world. For all of 2009 and, indeed, throughout the worst days of autumn 2008, I have been an optimist. On balance, both for the world and the UK, I remain so. Contrary to the comments of many, that has not always been the case.

Indeed, on a business trip to Mumbai early last year, I was rather taken aback by the financial market attention given to some comments reported in The Times from a press conference we had held the day before to discuss our views on India.

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