Home  News Regional News PM Thompson watchful of global situation
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PM Thompson watchful of global situation |
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Sunday, 12 October 2008 |
BRIDGETOWN - Prime Minister David Thompson says his eight month old administration is closely monitoring the global financial crisis to see what impact it may have on the Barbados economy.
“I believe that these are some of the most troubling times that have descended on the world, with the potential to have significant impact on other sectors of the economy in the United States of America, as well as to traverse the Atlantic and the Pacific and have an impact on the UK market, throughout Europe and potentially in parts of South East Asia,” said Thompson, speaking on the floor of the Barbados parliament on Tuesday.
As the House debated a more than Bds$50 million (US$25 million) supplementary, Thompson noted that the impact of the crisis was already reverberating around the globe.
The Barbados leader also pointed to forecasts of a likely decline in global growth this year, while expressing the hope that the world economy would rebound next year.
“You had skyrocketing energy prices, consumer and investor confidence in the United States being shaken, a dampening of domestic demand and economic activity,” said Thompson, who also highlighted a considerable slow down in growth and a rise in unemployment in the first quarter.
He noted that the US government had responded with expansionary measures designed to stimulate aggregate demand.
But he said the jury was out to determine the extent to which the measures would have a positive effect on the situation.
International financial markets have been thrown into turmoil in recent weeks largely due to a credit crisis in the United States, which has cast doubt over the health of the US economy. On Tuesday US stock markets hit their lowest levels in five years, as fears grew that the financial crisis would trigger a deep economic recession.
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