UK consumer confidence hovered around a 50-year low last month as Britons struggled against a backdrop of soaring inflation, political turmoil and high borrowing costs, according to new data. The consumer confidence index, a closely watched measure of how people view their personal finances and wider economic prospects, edged up only two points to minus 47 in October, from the minus 49 the previous month. The October reading was only marginally better than September, which was the lowest since records began in 1974.

Discuss how deteriorating macro-economic and market conditions described in the Vignette can contribute to the hard and soft capital rationing situations that companies are facing.