The latest Business Trends report suggests that business confidence has risen for the first time in 13 months.

Peter Hemington, corporate finance partner at BDO Stoy Hayward says: "Overall, our latest poll of polls presents mixed news on the UK economy. On the pessimistic side, the prospects for inflation and employment both receded to all time lows, bringing the reality of deflation and mass unemployment ever closer. There is some reason to be optimistic however, with business confidence over the near and medium term (as measured by the output and optimism indices respectively), both rising in February. Whilst the current crisis has already bought many false dawns, the result is encouraging, especially if the trend continues."

"UK businesses are beginning to factor-in the tough economic conditions and are now taking swift decisive action to manage in the downturn. This includes employing tactics such as halting production and implementing new employment strategies to keep costs down.  The report further illustrates this where it reveals that while there has been a reduction in full time employment figures, part time employment actually rose by 33,000 in October – December 2008."

"It is this adaptation to the challenges of the recession that has contributed to the rise, for the first time in 13 months, in the report’s short and medium term confidence. While optimism remains low, and businesses expect the economy to continue to contract, the report’s Optimism Index, which measures business confidence two quarters ahead, rose to 90.5 in February from 89.9 in January."