THE CBI bosses organisation said yesterday that UK manufacturers expect to reduce output over the next three months, driving another nail into the coffin of Tory growth propaganda.
It’s statement said that: ‘Business confidence continues to be undermined by uncertainty over events in Europe and the fast approaching US fiscal cliff. However, we expect UK growth to pick-up somewhat in 2013.’ The CBI has been reduced to living off its hopes!
The CBI noted: ‘Of the 409 manufacturers responding to the latest monthly Industrial Trends Survey, only 19% expect to increase their volume of output over the course of the next three months, while 28% expect it to fall. The resulting balance of -9% marks the lowest prediction this year and is below the long-run average (+6%). The anticipated fall is broad-based, with only motor vehicles and the transport equipment sub-sector expecting to increase output.’
Yesterday Tata Steel announced that it is cutting 900 jobs around the UK, including almost 600 jobs at plants in south Wales.
Tata announced: ‘We will be working with our trade unions and government at a national and local level to ensure we provide them with as much assistance and support as possible.’ Tata seem to think that the company’s unions belong to them as does the government.
Tata added that the demand for steel in Europe has dropped by 25% since 2007 and is forecast to fall by another 10% this year.
Unite union Wales secretary Andy Richards said: ‘Today’s announcement of job losses at Tata is devastating news for both the employees involved and the local community, especially coming so close to Christmas.
‘It is a dark day for Welsh workers and for the steel industry in Wales – another twist in the knife of decimation started by Thatcher over 30 years ago.’
Meanwhile, the Markit eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Output Index (PMI) warned of a 0.5% drop in GDP in the fourth quarter in the eurozone.
Official figures released earlier this month showed that the eurozone economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter, between July and September.
‘The PMI suggests that the downturn is set to gather pace significantly in the fourth quarter. The final three months of the year could see GDP fall by as much as 0.5%,’ said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
‘The eurozone economy continued to deteriorate at an alarming pace in November, and is entrenched in the steepest downturn since mid-2009,’ he added.
The banking crisis is also deepening. Cyprus has just agreed a bailout of some 19bn euros to try and prevent the total collapse of its banks. ‘The deadline that was set by the European Central Bank for the recapitalisation of the banks expired, so we had to enter the (EU/IMF) rescue mechanism,’ government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told reporters.
Cypriot banks have outstanding liabilities and debt totalling 152bn euros, or eight times the size of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the IMF!
The world capitalist crisis is driving towards a total collapse of the system.
The message is loud and very clear. The workers of Europe and the world must unite. Only the victory of the European socialist revolution and the world socialist revolution can save the world’s productive forces, including its people, from being destroyed by the death agony of the capitalist system.
