British Trade Deficit Grows: Britain’s trade picture...

British Trade Deficit Grows: Britain’s trade picture took a severe turn for the worse last month when its balance of payments showed a deficit of $3.25 billion (2.06 billion pounds), the second-worst monthly figure ever. The deficit compared to a shortfall of $2.5 billion (1.5 billion pounds) in June, and its size surprised economic analysts who had forecast an improvement. The government, which said there was no one reason for the jump, had hoped that its policy of pushing interest rates higher to cool the economy would have helped the trade figures.