Т е к с т 6. Labour accused of failing ordinary people

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ITN – Sunday, March 30, 2008.

A Labour minister has accused the Government of "too often" failing to tackle issues affecting ordinary people.

Junior Health minister, Ivan Lewis, claimed he was not criticising Gordon Brown but said his party is ignoring issues most important to hard-working families. In a newspaper interview, he said: "This is not a criticism of Gordon, but we have been in government 11 years and instead of being on the side of the people, too often we simply defend the status quo, even when it is unacceptable."

Mr Lewis said it was ironic that Labour, having "revolutionised" communications in politics, had "failed so dismally" to persuade people that it had delivered improvements in public services and living standards. "It is right we focus on the great challenges of climate change, globalisation, security and poverty at home and abroad and the nature of public service reform," he said.

"However, we are too often silent on the daily realities facing hardworking families." Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "I don't agree with him that we are out of touch. "I do agree with him that it is fundamentally important that we listen to what the British people are saying." Mr Lewis' comments were in stark contrast with the Prime Minister's remarks at the launch of Labour's local election campaign on Tuesday.

In a foreword to the campaign launch document, Mr Brown wrote: "Our starting point is, and always will be, the struggles and the hopes and ambitions of hard working families."

Т е к с т 7. Japan's industrial output down as exports slow

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by Miwa Suzuki March 31, 2008

TOKYO - Japanese factories cut their output for a second straight month in February amid weak demand from the sluggish US economy, official figures showed Monday. Japan's industrial output fell by 1.2 percent in February from the previous month, following a 2.2 % drop in January, the government reported.

It was the first time since May 2007 that output has declined for two straight months. Although market forecasts had been for a bigger decline of 2.2 %, analysts found little to cheer about in the lacklustre report, which comes amid growing jitters about the health of the world's second-largest economy.

"The drop was smaller than expected but this does not allow us to view this data positively," said Keiji Kanda, economist at Daiwa Institute of Research. He said that auto exports - which along with electronic goods have been a key driver of Japanese economic growth in recent years - were becoming sluggish due to the weakness of the US economy and the stronger yen.

Production of electronic parts and devices also declined in February amid slower exports to China, which imports parts from Japan and ships finished products to the US and European markets. Output from the sector may remain sluggish until the second half of 2008 as developed economies such as the United States are unlikely to recover rapidly from the current slowdown, Kanda said. Factory production is expected to rise 2.0 % in March but decline 1.0 percent in April, the trade and industry ministry said. Even if March production rises in line with the forecast, industrial production in the three months to March would drop by 1.9 percent from the previous quarter, according to a ministry official.

That would be the biggest decline since the fourth quarter of 2001."Given that production cycles are a decisive factor in assessing Japan's economy, the Japanese economy is entering a recession in the short term," Goldman Sachs economist Naoki Murakami wrote in a note to clients. The trade and industry ministry said industrial production was "staying flat as a whole". February shipments decreased 2.6 percent from January while inventory stockpiles edged down 0.1 percent. Japan's corporate sector has been a key driver of the recovery in Asia's largest economy after a decade-long slump. Helped by a weak yen, companies have racked up record profits in recent years that have allowed them to invest heavily in new equipment and factories.

But with exports to the shaky US economy now declining, executives are becoming more cautious about the earnings outlook, even if buoyant demand to developing economies is helping Japan's overall exports to keep growing. The Bank of Japan's closely watched Tankan survey due Tuesday is expected to show a sharp deterioration in business sentiment, according to analysts. But if the US economy escapes a severe slump then Japan's manufacturers may escape relatively unscathed, they said.