Leave it to the cabbies

In all big cites it seems like cabbies are the one who know what really is going on. In London now the cabbies are growing pessimistic about the economy according to a recent study.

In a quarterly poll of 500 cabbies by U.K.-based corporate- recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, the drivers said traffic between the City, London's financial district, and London's airports has declined and the number of calls to take bankers home from the office at night is on the wane.

"It looks to me like a worsening of attitudes,'' said Nick Hood, senior London partner at Begbies Traynor, in a telephone interview yesterday. "There are signs of battle fatigue out there in the economy.''

Forty-three percent of the drivers in the survey said they were less optimistic about their business compared with three months ago. Only 19 percent said they were more optimistic. The average length of fares has declined, and the number of riders picked up each day has fallen, according to the survey.

The poll has been done quarterly for three years, though it isn't scientific, Hood said. "It's an interesting mirror of what's going on in London's economy," he said.

It looks like they might be on to something. Oxford Economics reported last month the City’s gross domestic product will only expand with 3,6% this year. Compared to last years figures of 4,4%.