The UK economy has officially ground to a halt, and is in danger of heading for recession. In the second quarter of the year growth was, well, zero actually. That means that the longest period of economic expansion in British history, some 16 years of it, has come to an abrupt end.

Some observers note that not only could this mean that the boom times are over, but that bust is around the corner. If the next quarter shows a further economic slowdown in growth then the UK will officially be in recession.

However, it seems that the credit crunch is not bad news for everyone. The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index for July shows that online spending actually increased during that month.

With a total market value of some UKP 4.8 billion, that works out I am informed to average online spend of UKP 79 per person during the month.

I am sorry to report I did not do my bit, as I only spent UKP 52.26 online during July.

Still, the Capgemini index does show an 11.3 percent rise in online sales which compares very favourably to the zero percent overall economic growth figure for the UK. And what could possibly have caused this rise in online sales? Could it be that as people feel the credit crunch on the high street that they turn to the Internet to bag a bargain?

No, apparently not. According to IT Pro the report cites "wet weather as a major contributor to sales rising" during the period.

Which could be good news for the UK economy as a whole considering that August has been one of the wettest since records began...