LONDON (SHARECAST) - UK business confidence has jumped to its highest in 18 months despite the ongoing recession, a new survey has found.

A poll of senior executives for accountancy firm KPMG shows 19% of the 205 executives asked say the outlook for business is “good” or “very good,” up from 9% the previous quarter.

There was a big drop in the number of senior executives saying the outlook is “bad” or “very bad”, down to 24% from 54% last time.

Today’s news follows Friday’s revelation that Britain’s economy shrank by 0.4% in the third quarter, confounding analysts’ expectations of a return to growth.

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