Pictured above: Nigel Reynolds, Founder and Principal of Reynolds and Co.

Nigel Reynolds, Founder and Principal of West Midlands based accountancy practice Reynolds and Co., warns the Midlands business community that the United Kingdom will start to feel the effects of the United States' slowing economic growth within the next nine months.

Recent reports have suggested that US data has been disappointing across many areas, such as jobs, retail sales and consumer confidence. The housing weakness has been particularly disturbing, as sales of new and existing US homes reached multi-year lows in July.

Nigel believes that when the UK starts to feel the effects, it will result in a similar lower growth and possibly a return to recession, before being followed by a more sustained growth.

Nigel explains: "The West Midlands business community needs to be aware that the current economic situation may get worse before it gets better. I am therefore issuing the warning that we may be seeing the repercussions of the United States' slowing economic growth within six to nine months.

"I like to use the analogy that the recession from 2008 was like a major earthquake that is followed by smaller aftershocks and an occasional larger aftershock. The situation in the US at present has the potential to be one of those larger shocks.

"The problem is that the bad practices within the banking sector that caused the recession from 2008 have still not been addressed. One lesson that we should have learnt from that time is that the world is no longer a series of separate economies such as Asia, China, USA and Europe, but we are now closer to being one economy and this has only happened in the last thirty to fifty years."

In comparison to the US data, China's is being regarded as the world's new growth engine and while their expansion has also shown signs of slowing, it remains at a strong pace by Western standards. China's trade surplus has also surged to an eighteen month high.

However, Nigel comments: "I am concerned by the major reliance being placed upon China as a way out of the problems faced by the rest of the world. While I feel that this may be the case, I do not like putting all of my eggs in one basket.

"This shows that it is time that the Politicians faced the fact that the only way to control the banking sector is through Global Regulation and Taxation so that they are prevented from playing one Country off against another and from using their economic influence to affect a Countries Development. It needs a real initiative to make a difference."

Reynolds and Co specialise in accountancy (including Solicitors' Accounts Rules), taxation and business advisory services. This includes Management and Business Services, Business Start Up Support, Tax Management and Tax Returns Support, IT Support and Payroll and Booking Keeping Services.

The firm is also a member of the ACCA, the largest global body for professional accountants - with 140,000 members of the accredited body across the World.