There may be trouble ahead: British business

The Confederation of British Industry’s first ever online annual conference opens today at a difficult time for members. The CBI’s latest survey, released yesterday, showed corporate activity slowing sharply, with a net 29% of respondents reporting declines in output in the three months to October. That was a bigger drop than the CBI reported for the three months to September. A net 23% of survey respondents also expected activity to fall in the next three months, and that gloom will have been exacerbated by the newly announced second lockdown (not to mention the risk of a no-deal Brexit). The IMF had already predicted that British GDP would decline by 10.4% this year, and would rebound by 5.7% in 2021, making up only part of the lost ground. Manufacturing was the sector least affected, according to the CBI survey, and the purchasing managers index, out today, is expected to show continued growth for goods producers.

confederation[kənˌfedəˈreɪʃn]: 联盟，联合体
CBI: 英国工业联合会
respondent：回答问题的人，（尤指）调查对象
decline in： 下降
output：产量
gloom[ɡluːm]: 忧郁，愁闷
exacerbate：使恶化
lockdown[ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt]: 活动限制
IMF: 国际货币基金组织