LONDON: British business confidence has weakened this month after executives' view of the global economic ‍outlook declined to ‍its darkest in a year, a survey by Lloyds showed ​on Friday. Lloyds' business barometer slipped to a net balance of +44% in January ⁠from +47% in December, driven by a 14-point drop in businesses' net economic optimism ⁠to a ‌one-year low of +28%. "Firms are reporting confidence in their trading prospects at the start of the year, despite a slight softening of wider economic optimism. The survey was ‌based on ⁠responses from 1,200 businesses with annual sales of at least 250,000 pounds ($343,750). $1 = 0.7273 ⁠pounds) (Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)