Light at the end of the tunnel?

There's been a lot of positive talk recently that the credit crunch has peaked and we have weathered the worst of the storm, but are we not getting a little ahead of ourselves?

After all, last Wednesday Gordon Brown uttered the word "recession" for the first time, while on Friday it was revealed that the UK economy had shrunk by 0.5% for the first time in 16 years.

The Bank of England's chief economist, Charlie Bean, has described the turmoil as "possibly the largest financial crisis of its kind in human history." And you can see why.

Banks are still not lending to each other, around 280 small companies are going out of business every week (that's 40 per day), the FTSE is continually sliding, and the Government wants to borrow even more money to help ease the pain. Ouch!

Outside of the UK, the International Monetary Fund has offered significant rescue packages to both the Ukraine and Hungary, in an effort to shore up key Eastern European economies.

The UK's problem is a large one, however Stephen Boyle, a senior economist for the Royal Bank of Scotland believes Lancashire is weathering the storm better than anywhere else in the country.

Speaking at a recent economic breakfast event Mr. Boyle said that the North West was the only region in the country to have witnessed growth in economic output during the last quarter.

He added that the North West can "draw strength" from this news, despite the forecast of a tough 12 months ahead.

But regardless of the optimism, the facts are there to be seen. Unemployment is on the increase, property prices are sliding relentlessly and the Government is fighting to save the battered sterling.

Are we certain the worst is over, or is the UK's economy living on borrowed time?