Between the lines: Savings recovery is the silver lining as sales totter

HERE is a puzzle of our times. Last Saturday I spent the morning fighting through crowds at Ikea (full car park) and nearby Sainsbury. I saw no compelling signs of a consumer downturn. Indeed, the quietest part of Ikea was the returns department, where I sat and read the gloomiest FT in years.

My colleague Scott Reid bravely ventured out in his motor car for the Braehead shopping centre the same day, but was forced by traffic queues to abandon his trip.

Did someone say consumer downturn? Yet from Gfk yesterday came truly appalling figu...