Business body senses optimism in cloudy outlook

06 Dec '08

2 min read

The economic crisis which has enveloped the economies across the globe has not differentiated between developed and developing countries. As much as the smaller economies are feeling the brunt, so are the biggest economies experiencing so. Switzerland, one of the most industrialized countries is also sensing the heat.

But the survey conducted by the Swiss Business Federation, begs to differ on the outlook painted by economists who have projected zero growth rates in 2009. The survey depicts a optimistic outlook for next year with many domestic companies confident of posting growth in 2009, while the rest expecting the worst to be behind them by the first half.

According to findings from the survey, unemployment levels are expected to climb to 3.2 percent next year from the 2.5 percent in the on-going year. But optimism was drawn from the expected cuts in interest rates leading to a boost in consumer spending. The federation has been able to pick bright spots from the over all black and cloudy picture.

According to the Federation, they foresee hard times for the textile and machinery sector, but expect other sectors like consumer goods, watches and luxury goods to move at a slower growth rate than that achieved in 2008. The body sees a mix of positive and negative growth rates among different sectors but was unanimous in the fact that the high growth rates were a thing of the past.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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