Manufacturing is collapsing – this double dip recession is not a blip that George Osborne can ignore

Yet more evidence that the economy is in freefall: the Markit PMI index, an indicator of economic growth in the various sectors of the economy, suggests that manufacturing is in freefall. The latest figure is 45.9 – above 50 means that the sector is expanding, while 55 would be a big expansion. So 45.9 is a disaster. It's the worst the figure has been in three years, and the first time the figure has been below 50 since November...Telegraph