TIMES ONLINE 2010.02.20
The coldest winter since 1979 combined with the end of discounted VAT to send high street sales plummeting in January, according to new figures.
The data from the
Office for National Statistics has stoked fears that the economy could be heading towards a double-dip recession.
The volume of goods sold by retailers fell by 1.2 per cent last month, the biggest fall since June 2008 and more than double the 0.5 per cent decline economists had expected.