While the U.S. and continental Europe began their economic upturns, Britain continued for months to wallow in the trough of recession. In fact, other countries feared that Britain's economic woes—notably, a galloping inflation and a weakening pound—might trigger a new international economic crisis. But as the new year began, it was evident that Britain, though still lagging behind other nations, has firmly entered the recovery stage. The three major signs:
1) Inflation, which reached a ruinous annual rate of 28% in 1975, has braked to a more manageable 15% and is expected...