Katie Does Yoga

And so, Friday, as we have made it through another week.

I may confirm that Britain officially in the "festive season" or, at least, several Brits have told me that. I first noticed the faux X-mas trees and plasticy wreaths from mid-November while Oxford Street tipped in October. And I am not the only one to remark on the holidays : investors, bankers, economists and the government watch the retail sales closely. As Amit at UBS says : "Our sense is that retail sales and consumer spending more generally will remain firm into Q4 as people bring forward their spending ahead of the VAT rate hike in January. Q1, however, will be weak and going forward next year we expect anaemic consumer spending growth." Amit is a pill. Good thing, then, that we have booze to take up the slack: the British spent £10.4 billion of alcohol in the final quarter of '09 - a figure, I imagine, that will be matched yet once again.

"Bah! Humbug!"
--Ebenezer Scrooge