UNDER a barrage of reports and statistics from a variety of sources, it’s becoming harder to fathom out exactly how our economy is faring.

It’s clear certain sectors, led by financial services, are still facing very difficult and challenging times.The collapse of Lehman Brothers occurred on September 16, a failure which many now regard as the equivalent of taking a sledgehammer to the foundations of many of the world’s markets.

It really seems longer ago than that. So much has happened since then – and not much of it has been good news.

Currently, there seems to be some stability returning to the financial markets, thanks in no small part (in case we forget) to government intervention.

At the weekend, it was interesting to see advertisements from HSBC regarding their commitment to business customers. This was followed up on Monday with news from the same bank about how it views future mortgage lending in the UK. Some welcome news from a bank at long last.

Less welcome this week is the news from the motor industry. Locally, this has focused on the announcement from Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port that its Christmas shutdown is doubling from a fortnight to a month.

Meanwhile, its parent company General Motors and rivals are still trying to broker a rescue package with the US Treasury. Back over here, Jaguar Land Rover’s (relatively) new owners Tata Group are setting about tackling the implications of the downturn in their higher end of the market.

Also over here, the cold winds of recession have blasted their way into the mega-rich world of Formula One with Honda calling a halt to its Grand Prix racing programme.

So, all of that paints a pretty gloomy picture, doesn’t it? But while these big players are pulling their big levers to stem even bigger losses, there’s conflicting news on household spending.

If you were brave enough to enter the fray at any branch of Woolworths at the weekend, you are probably still nursing your scars from the battlefield their stores became as soon as the Half Price Sale started.