CBI quashes hopes of UK economy beating US downturn

The Confederation of British industry has said the US economic downturn has "quashed" hopes of a manufacturing upturn in Britain.

Data from the Confederation of British industry shows the US economic downturn has "quashed" hopes of a manufacturing upturn in Britain.

The CBI said output and business confidence fell as 30 percent of firm said domestic orders were down.

That figure represents its fastest fall since July 1999.

The survey found that just 16 percent of companies had seen orders improve.

The CBI said output growth had "ground to a halt" while export orders had also fallen.