As we approach the middle of the final quarter of 2012, one has
to say that the economic outlook is still a gloomy one – even
for a born optimist such as myself. In fact as far back as July
2009, my Gibraltar Magazine column article was titled
Green Shoots. Had I known three years ago what we all know
now, maybe I wouldn't have been so keen to call time on the
crisis, but life seldom turns out quite as we expect, does it? And
in the financial world, that has never been truer than today.
But given my "glass is half full, not half empty"
sense of optimism, are there any signs of recovery one can point to
as 2012 races towards 2013? Firstly, I should acknowledge that for
many, including here in Gibraltar, the year could end badly as more
jobs losses are announced and companies continue to struggle or
even fail altogether. This is especially true across the border in
Spain where many Gibraltarians have been left nursing hefty
mortgage payments on property worth
