In the week that one of sport’s most iconic hero’s, Sachin Tendulkar, takes his final bow in test cricket and we again bear witness to natures ferocity in the Philippines’, it’s the state of the UK economy that has grabbed most of the column inches.
With inflation and unemployment down and the economic growth prediction for the rest of this year and next increasing, Mark Carney, the bank of England governor, feels confident enough to say that the economic recovery has taken hold and we can have a more optimistic view on the horizon.
But with Barratts shoes once again in trouble and Blockbuster closing dozens of stores it flies in the face of the staggering $83million paid for a pink diamond at auction and the $105 million paid for a Warhol painting.
A more sobering viewpoint of price inflation was shared by the Unite union.
They claim that the rising cost of living is reducing workers’ disposable incomes by, on average, £129 a month.
The Unsurvey of just under 4,000 of its members found workers in the health sector are being hit hardest in the pocket; with paramedics, ambulance staff and other health service personnel seeing a typical drop of £233 every month.
Members say the biggest price increases are for food and energy costs.
Female members are noting a £190 a month cut in their disposable incomes, twice as much as their male colleagues.
A quarter of homeowners admitted they are finding it difficult to meet their mortgage payments and around two thirds of those renting property have had to cope with rent increases this year.
So whilst there are certainly hopeful signs out there, this hasn’t as yet filtered its way through to everybody’s pay packets.
Let’s hope Mr Carney’s positive predictions for 2014 and beyond are both accurate and maybe even conservative.