from Dave Windsar
james Sn The Investors' Chronicle of March 25th carried an item in its Business Affairs section which considered the United National Economic Commission's Survey of Europe in 1965. It claimed that the Survey undermined the Chancellor'a assumption that most things are going well in the U.K. economy and especially his date for the restoration of equilibrium in the balance of payments. It went ons *,...the survey holds that a continuing outflow of long-term capital will postpone overall balance at least until early 1967." The Investor's Chronicle dismisses Government claims with these words: ""Whitehall's claims are dismissed almost casually. Of the £250m,. improvement in the balance of payments between 1964 and 1965, £100m, follows from better terms of trade, £75m, follows from the economically disruptive imports surcharge, £30m, from postponed debt service in North America and thus only minimal amounts derive from any direct deflation of demand." It continues: "U.N. says that there are two ways in which the U.K. might secure the surplus — necessary to restore the monetary position....lhe first, to hold down the growth rate for some years; the second, to increase the U.K.'s competitive standards...None of this makes cheerful reading for the next Government, Implicitly, the short-term impact of Mr. George Brown's harangue on prices and incomes is stamped as derisory and a sharp contrast is made with the rise of 10% in actual hourly wage earnings." The final note is very gloomy indeed: "After all, says the U.N., the U.K. has had the - shakiest payments structure, the largest (relative) loss in world trade and still 'the smallest increase in average earnings and labour costs per unit of output! during the sixties. So (with Sterling at $2.80) room for manoeuvre hardly existsec...”