FULL RECOVERY OF ECONOMY Britain will recover all the ground lost in the recession by July, three months earlier than expected, according to the British Chambers of Commerce as business activity index hit a near four-year high. The economy will expand by 2.8% this year and by 2.5% in both 2015 and 2016.

UK CONSTRUCTION The construction PMI, produced by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, slipped to 62.6 in February from 64.6 in January. Economists had forecast a fall to 63. Despite the weather, housebuilding was strong by recent standards. The sub-index fell from 67.3 to 62.1, suggesting that activity "continued to increase sharply". Job creation was at its highest in three months as 59% of construction companies expected a rise in output over the year.

UK MANUFACTURING The Manufacturing sector weathered the storms and stronger pound last month to create the highest amount of jobs since 2011. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector rose to 56.9 from 56.6 in January. Any mark above 50 signals growth.

RIGHT KIND OF GROWTH Britain enjoyed the "right kind of growth" in the final three months of 2013 as business investment and trade took over from consumption as the main drivers of the recovery. Official figures showed the long awaited revival in corporate spending finally had picked up speed, with investment growing by 2.4% to £31.8 billion in the fourth quarter, the highest since September 2007.Trade also contributed to growth as imports fell and exports grew by 0.7% in final three months of 2013, with 0.4% delivered by trade and 0.2% by business investments.

HOUSEBUILDING Housebuilding in England last year recovered to levels not seen since the start of the financial crisis in 2007, giving the Help to Buy scheme a boost. New housing starts rose to 23% in 2013 to a six year high of 122,590 but remained far below the industrys peak of 183,000 in year to March 2006. Rates of new build in the final three months of the year increased by 23% on the same period in 2012, despite the bad weather

EXPORTERS HOPE RISE Nearly three quarters of British exporters expect to see an improvement in their turnover in the first three months of this year and a third plan to hire more staff, according to a survey of more than 2,400 companies by the British Chambers of Commerce and DHL.

RETAIL SALES Retail sales bounced back strongly last month, helped by heavy discounting as stores tried to unload their stock. The 3.9% rise in like-for-like sales lifted spirits on the high street after a subdued end to last year. Yet even after that improvement, sale rose only by 1.7% in the three months to end January, dragged down in part by the falling food sales, according to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

HOUSEHOLD SPENDING Pressure on household finances since the financial crisis has been so severe that the number of mortgage borrowers with less than 5% of their pay left at the end of the month has almost doubled in the past seven years, despite cuts in interest rates to an historic low, according to the Resolution Foundation.

UK SHOP VACANCIES The number of empty shops on the high street fell to its lowest level in three and a half years last month. The rate of town center shop vacancies dropped from 14.1% in November to 13.9%, according to the Local Data monthly barometer.

BRITISH GROWTH All three key sectors of the economy powered ahead at their fastest pace since 1998 in the three months to December, fueling speculation that growth will have surged by almost 2% last year. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index of manufacturing, construction and services rose from 60.1 between July and September to 60.5 in the final quarter of 2013.

HOUSEHOLD SPENDING Retail expenditure will increase by 16.5% a year to the end of 2018, according to Verdict, the market research company, twice the rate over the past five years, as shackles on spending from the recession are removed. Food and grocery, health and beauty, electrical goods and furniture will be among the biggest beneficiaries.