UK companies should tighten their credit management procedures as they face tough times ahead, credit insurer Coface UK warned.
Trading conditions would stay difficult for the short to medium term, brokers, exporters and analysts were told at a conference hosted by the insurer today.
Companies should cut their exposure to unnecessary credit risks, they were told.
Mark Berrisford-Smith, senior economist at HSBC, warned that a financial slowdown in the US could spread to the rest of the world, increasing the risk of non-payment to UK companies.
"The US economy is at the end of a Goldilocks era as growth falters, inflation falls and unemployment increases," he said.
"With Europe and Japan unable to fill this gap, this means the global economy is entering a new period of stagnation."
