Despite reports of the anti-government situation in Egypt shifting focus from the economic crisis for the time being; alarmingly UK banks are among the most exposed to the situation, with only French banks having more Egyptian borrowers in Europe.

It is concerning once again to see further drops in house prices announced today. This is now a drop for the seventh consecutive month. One wonders just how far we can expect them to fall over the coming months.

It is certainly of serious concern today to hear of the 0.5% GDP quarterly contraction. Whilst the weather towards the end of last year was a factor, even taking this variable out of the equation the underlying growth picture is still significantly weaker than expected. A Q1 rebound following this is likely, but will surely be hampered by other elements such as the VAT hike no doubt.

Best wishes today to British Airways following their merger with Iberia. Their brand will now be known as IAG on the stock exchange. I excect we may see more of these mergers as the need to cut costs in the aviation industry increases.

It comes as little suprise today that the government have not delivered on their promise to increase bank lending to small businesses. It seems nobody is championing the cause for firms to recieve the backing they require. Without this support it will be very difficult for small businesses to achieve growth.

its of major concern the number of small firms closing , obviously this is a major problem for the economy as small firms are the life-blood of the economic recovery.

It is a significant concerned to see the figures showing mortgage advances dropping by 6% through December today. A flat property market is definately not good for the economy. Lets hope that mortgage lenders show more flexibility over the coming months.

It is always worrying to see unemployment on the increase, but particularly worrying is the number of young people contributing to that figure. Todays youth represent the skills and ideas of the future, and the current volume left jobless could spell major loss for the future of British business.

Following the announcement of unemployment figures increasing by 49,000 up to November, it is plain to see that the cuts made by the Coalition Government are yet to yield tangible benefit on the total number that remain jobless. It is clear that in order to successfully overcome the challenges ahead, they have a significant task to rebalance the economy and properly support private sector growth, and ultimatey earn the publics faith.

I notice that property asking prices in the uk have actually risen. This can only be due to two reasons, a shortage of stock on the market, or perhaps a result of vendors refusal to reduce their asking price of their property accordingly. This is one to watch over the coming months as if base rates do increase, owners will be forced to put their properties on the market for a quick sale, as they no longer will be able to afford their monthly mortgage payments.

A good set of figures from Eurostar published today who have obviously benefited with airline troubles caused by both the torrid weather conditions, and ash clouds throughout 2010 . Perhaps this is an early indication of a definite recovery in business travel demand.

Business owners will need to be aware of the 1.3% drop to house prices last month in comparison to November 2010. With many business loans guaranteed against their property values. A further decrease could indirectly lead to overdraft reduction, due to the fall of equity status, or loans needing to be repaid.

What a shame that after four successful seasons that James Caan has stepped down from the panel of Dragons Den. Described by the media as the calmest and most sincere of the Dragons, the shows producers will surely have a task on their hands in replacing him