Just as the weather is picking up and it may very well look like we’re about to have a summer, yes shocking I know, this is England after all, it seems even despite the economic gloom, some companies are in a happier mood too.

The latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer shows that 22% of companies were more upbeat and positive about the global economy and fear of recession over the next 12 months.

At a time when headlines everywhere are alerting us that economic growth is at its slowest rate for three years, this uplifting news is greeted as readily as a cloudless, blue skied bank holiday in August.

Like the confident foundations they have been built on, many companies remain positive that despite forecasts of a thunderstorm they are self-assured about their own trading possibilities for the forthcoming year. The number of firms who think their business activity will rise over the next year increased by 8 per cent in June, to 32 per cent.