What's going on?

The message from a series of economic data releases on Thursday is clear: business is booming in the eurozone, but the British economy isn�t quite so rosy�

What does this mean?

An influential survey of businesses in the eurozone showed that business activity is cracking on at its fastest pace in more than six years � and stronger than economists thought. Businesses are making more stuff and employing more people (job growth is at a 17-year high). Interestingly, prices are also increasing more quickly as companies see stronger demand � suggesting inflation is finally ticking up.


Data on Britain�s economic performance in the third quarter made for more sober reading, however. Over the past year the UK ecomomy grew at its slowest pace since 2013.

Why should I care?

For markets: Inflation is still subdued globally.

Moderately increasing prices are usually a sign of an improving economy (why? click here). The European Central Bank (ECB) has used historically extreme policies in recent years (like quantitative easing) in an effort to boost inflation � and they seem to be working. The problem, however, is that inflation globally is still subdued. Officials in the US this week said persistently low inflation is a worrying conundrum. Similarly, as the ECB (slowly) pares back its efforts, it may become clear that underlying, sustained inflation is still very low (click here for background on the impact of low inflation).

For you personally: Britain is open for business tourists.

Although British economic growth in general has slowed thanks to Brexit, with businesses investing less in themselves due to uncertainty over future trading relationships, one area has seen a big boost: overseas tourism. Data released last week showed that international tourism was up 6% this summer compared to last year � and that tourists spent a record �2.8bn in August alone. It looks like the recent decline in the pound has made the UK a comparatively cheap destination for travelers � so get booking that Cornish vacation now!