LONDON -- There seem to be two unstoppable trends on the current British scene -- the unending rise in the London stock market and the still rising popularity of Tony Blair, the prime minister.
The two are not unconnected. The economic recession which many experts forecast for Britain, after five years of strong growth, is proving to be the mildest of dips and the outlook for renewed expansion without inflation looks rosy. Even the normally austere and cautious Bank of England has joined in the optimistic chorus.
Meanwhile the impression is growing that the worst of the Asian economic turmoil is over, that most, if not all, of the Asian tigers are getting back into their stride and that even the giant but stagnant Japanese economy may at last be getting its act together.
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