As he notes, consumers, fearing further attacks, are staying in, which inevitably hampers spending.
Furthermore, the private sector does not necessarily consider this group of diseases as a lucrative target, a phenomenon which severely hampers spending on research and development of specific drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tools [ 3].
With inflation likely to hold stubbornly above the 2.5% mark for much or all of 2013, real earnings growth looks set to remain elusive, hampering consumer spending in the UK economy.
China will invest heavily in S&T over the next 5 years and cut red tape hampering science spending with the hope that innovation will help the country weather its economic slowdown.
► As announced by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on 5 March, "China will invest heavily in [science and technology (S&T)] over the next 5 years and cut red tape hampering science spending with the hope that innovation will help the country weather its economic slowdown," Kathleen McLaughlin reported on Monday.
The banking sector is still riddled with bad debts and hesitant to lend more, and unemployment is still at nosebleed levels, hampering consumer spending.
Consumers who used their skyrocketing home values to borrow ever larger sums of money to feed further spending are now paying off that debt, which hampers their spending.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for European retailers, as the Continent's debt crisis continues to hamper consumer spending.
Another concern is the nation's intractable unemployment rate, which has hampered consumer spending and worsened a foreclosure crisis in the housing market.
Most restaurant chains have been suffering from lower sales this year as high food and gas prices, tight credit and the weak housing market has hampered discretionary spending.
