Manufacturing confidence falls

Business confidence has declined in every

region for the first time since 2003, as new orders continued to fall - according to the latest quarterly Regional Trends Survey published this week by the

and

.

The fall in new manufacturing orders in the three months to July, continues a trend that began at the start of this year, but is now driven exclusively by the continuing slowdown in the domestic economy. By contrast, export orders, which had declined in the two previous surveys, rose in five regions in the past quarter, and stabilized in two others.

However, in four regions,

, the South East & London,

and East of England, the decline in export orders continues unabated. Two of these regions,

and the South East & London, are extremely pessimistic about prospects for export orders in the months ahead. This is in stark contrast to expectations of a further rise in five regions, led by the East Midlands,