Congratulations to Georgie Boy and the C. for picking the right path.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21141201
22 January 2013 Last updated at 10:55
UK public sector borrowing rises slightly in December
The loss of the UK's AAA rating would be seen as an embarrassment for George Osborne The loss of the UK's AAA rating would be seen as an embarrassment for George Osborne
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The government borrowed slightly more than expected in December, fuelling fears that the UK could lose its coveted AAA credit rating.
UK public sector net borrowing, excluding financial interventions, hit £15.4bn in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
That marked a small rise from the £14.8bn borrowed in December 2011.
The headline figure was slightly worse than expected - analysts had forecast borrowing of £15.2bn.
December's figure takes total borrowing so far this financial year, excluding a transfer of Royal Mail pension assets, to £106.5bn, some £7.2bn more than for the same period in 2011.
Investec economist Philip Shaw said he still expected the deficit to overshoot the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecasts from the Autumn Statement last year.
"There are no signs of progress in the public finances," he added.
However, a Treasury spokesman insisted that the economy was healing and said that the figures indicated a gradual recovery.
The pound fell against the euro immediately after the data was released - trading 0.2% lower at 1.1872 euros.
Negative outlook
The data showed that government receipts rose 3.6%, while spending grew 5.4% in December compared with a year ago.
The broader public sector net borrowing measure - which includes the cost of bailing out the UK's banks - rose to £13.2bn in December from £12.6bn a year ago.