1. SUMMARY
The EU economy and its manufacturing sector seem at last to be emerging from the recession with GDP in the third quarter rising by 0.3% on the previous quarter after five consecutive quarters of contraction, and manufacturing output up by 2.8% in November as compared to its trough in March 2009. Most Member States showed a clear rebound in GDP with only Spain and Greece still in negative territory. Among the largest Member States, the strongest growth was seen in Germany (0.7%) and Italy (0.6%). However, manufacturing output in eight Member States has not really recovered yet, and construction output is still on a downward trend in most countries. These figures confirm that so far the fall in GDP has been constituted first and foremost by the output fall in industry and construction. Increasing new orders and growing confidence over the past months point to an improving outlook for the EU industry. This more positive picture is also reflected in the above first signs of recovery in the manufacturing output, although it still remains almost 17% below its peak level of early 2008. The situation varies considerably between sectors and across Member States. Also, a number of factors still suggest that a cautious approach is warranted to the prospects for economic recovery. These include a continuing decline of output in construction, the fact that both output levels and confidence indicators are still at low levels in absolute terms and the likelihood of a further deterioration in labour markets reflecting the typically delayed reaction of employment to output reductions and the expected phasing out of short-time working schemes. Looking to the future, there is also still a continuous risk that restricted availability of finance on favourable terms to firms could slow down an economic recovery. SMEs in particular appear to suffer from continued difficult access to short term finance, including export credits and trade finance that have declined considerably...................... ...........2.3.5. Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Companies in the pharmaceuticals sector continue to be less directly affected by the economic crisis than most other industries since demand for health care is relatively independent of the economic cycle. However, the industry has been confronted with more stringent pharmaceutical cost-containment measures as national authorities attempt to limit growing public health budget deficits. In the context of the economic crisis, a significant number of 7 Member States have introduced further reductions in the prices of medicines and/or modified their reimbursement rules in recent months (e.g. Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, France, Greece, Slovakia…). Due to its R&D intensity, long investment periods, and the risks associated to such investments, smaller speciality pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in this sector have already had difficulties in obtaining access to affordable equity finance. This is a trend which is likely to strengthen given the current dysfunction in financial markets. Even if this is less of a problem for the 20 top pharmaceutical companies, some of the largest companies in the sector including GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca have recently announced further job cuts of 6000 worldwide (EU figures not available). In the case of the biotech sector the adverse effect of the crisis also manifests itself with limited access to capital. This situation is in particular difficult for emerging biotech companies the vast majority of which still have negative net cash flow. Access to venture capital is vital, especially for start-ups. Nevertheless some large life-sciences and pharmaceutical companies are still well positioned with revenues, cash, low-debt and readiness for partnering, licensing and M&A.10.........
.......2.3.11. Construction The most recent data published by EUROSTAT20 show that construction output continues to decline. The output in the EU27 fell by 1.6% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the previous quarter. Not only the activity in building construction declined by 2% but also the production value of civil engineering remained stagnant in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter. The latest preliminary month-on-month data indicates that output in civil engineering rose again in November by 0.6 % compared with the previous month (4.4%compared with a year earlier), showing limited evidence of new public investment in infrastructure projects. Employment decreased by 9.8% in the construction industry over the third quarter compared to the previous year. Many EU countries, including EU-12, are still concerned by the decline of the economic activity in the construction industry. Among the countries for which data are available for the third quarter of 2009, construction output compared to the previous quarter rose only in Poland (+5.3 %), Luxemburg (+4.5%), Finland (+3.0 %) and the Czech Republic (+0.4%). The largest quarterly decreases were registered in Lithuania (-15.3%), Latvia (-11.8%), Estonia (-11.4%), Ireland (-9.9%), Slovenia (-9.8%), Romania (-7.9%), Greece (-7.2%) and Spain (-6.1%).
La sinistra non sembra reagire a dovere e cerca alleati tra i moderati , mentre due milioni di disoccupati , alla faccia del governo che sostiene che la ripresa c'e', sempre piu' spesso manifestano davanti al Parlamento (il che' dovrebbe seriamente far riflettere la Casta) ed il clima di esasperazione cresce. La collusione con settori mafiosi o corrotti e' sempre piu' scoperta. Il rischio che si formi un grumo di interessi corporativi che appoggi un governo autoritario che si opporra' al cambiamento non e' piu' solo una cupa fantasia, come anche un giornalista come Bocca sostiene. Il disagio soggettivo e diffuso, per i piu' deboli, in conclusione potrebbe aumentare.......
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