U.K. growth speeds up.

As expected, U.K. GDP growth accelerated to a quarterly 0.6% in Q2 from 0.3% in Q1 as all the main sectors of the economy expanded for the first time in almost three years. Still, critics say living standards remain stagnant, while GDP is 3.3% below its peak. The pound (GBB) fell following the data but was +0.1% at $1.5332 at the time of writing.