Did the crystal ball gazers get it right?

Oct 11 2009 by Rob Pattinson, Sunday Sun

WITH the country sinking deep into the uncertainty of recession last October the Sunday Sun turned to the predictive talents of a financial adviser, an astrologer, and a fortune-teller to see what the future might hold. How did they fair? A year on we return to our experts for another glimpse into their crystal balls . . .

ALOK Dhanda, an independent financial adviser, with his own business in Newcastle, predicted an increase in exports and a tourism boom in the region.

He said: “I t hink it’s safe to say things have improved. I said last time house prices had dropped for the eleventh consecutive month. Now they have risen for the fifth.

“This time last year everyone was being extremely cautious. People were being careful with their money and were not investing. Now we have seen house prices increase again. There has been much more action in the mortgage market.

“The coming year could reflect something we call, ‘the dead cat bounce’ - it’s what happens after you hit rock bottom. If you look at the FTSE share index, it’s around 5,000 at the moment, Last year it hit a low of 3,512.

“In my opinion we will continue to see a steady rise across the world economy this year. People are now investing again, they’re not as frightened to commit to investments. In my opinion this will continue.

“I also think a lot of companies who have had to make cutbacks during the downturn, and who have struggled, will start to claw back a bit. You can already see some stores taking more staff back on ready for Christmas.

“I’m not going to say we’re out of the woods but things are looking up. Some say this is a short-term view, but you have to take a world view. There are already companies moving out of recession.

ASTROLOGER of 20 years Frank Pilkington provides horoscopes for C4 Teletext.

Last year he predicted “a new sense of regime” in Europe and a three-year recovery period for the economy.

He said: “We are still on course for that recovery. Things will improve slightly this year, but there is going to be amazing change.