Recovery hope for UK as companies pick up

More promising signs have emerged on the economic recovery after firms in England and Wales recorded a strong pick-up in activity during July.

Lloyds TSB said its headline index covering all English regions rose to 60 last month, signalling the best growth since the survey began in January 2001. In Wales, a score of 57.6 was above the survey’s no change value of 50 for the 12th month in a row and the fastest growth since February 2010.