Eurozone growth forecast cut; Post-US order for Pakistan; Apple's Cook hints at wearable devices; China's biggest US play

1 Eurozone growth forecast cut (BBC) The OECD has again cut its growth forecasts for the eurozone and called on the European Central Bank to consider doing more to boost growth. The organisation says the eurozone will shrink by 0.6% this year, widening the gap between it and faster-growing economies such as the US and Japan. The UK forecast was revised down to 0.8% growth this year and 1.5% in 2014.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has given France two more years to complete its austerity programme. France fell back into recession in the first three months of the year. Spain, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Slovenia have also been given more time to complete fiscal tightening. The move suggests a shift away from a focus on austerity in Europe.

In its twice-yearly Economic Outlook, the OECD said prolonged economic weakness in Europe could damage the global economy. The organisation, which represents 34 advanced economies, forecast average growth across its members of 1.2% this year and 2.3% in 2014.  It painted a troubled picture of the eurozone economy. The forecast of a 0.6% contraction in GDP is down markedly from the 0.1% contraction forecast just six months ago. It said eurozone unemployment would continue to rise from its current rate of 12%, stabilising in 2014.

The organisation's chief economist, Pier Paolo Padoan, told Reuters that the eurozone remained the dominant area of concern. "Europe is in a dire situation," he told the news agency. "We think that the eurozone could consider more aggressive options. We could call it a eurozone-style QE."

2 The post-US order for Pakistan (Rafia Zakaria in Dawn) Now that the new Pakistani order is on the point of taking over the country, there must be some discussion on the prospects of creating an alternative alignment that is focused away from the US. One of the most promising new economic conglomerations to have emerged in recent years as a foil to American power has been the BRICS platform.

Comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, BRICS first met as a possible coalition of interests in September 2006 when the foreign ministers of these countries met in New York. Historian Vijay Prashad, whose book The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South, assesses the possibilities of BRICS in terms of geopolitics and dominance of the global North. According to him, the BRICS platform has certain strengths. Home to 40% of the world’s population, it controls collectively 25% of the entire world’s landmass as well as 25% of the world’s GDP. Three of the five BRICS states are declared nuclear powers and two enjoy permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

At the same time, notes Prashad, BRICS faces significant challenges. The countries have enormous cultural and religious diversity and differences of opinion which may pose a risk to them acting collectively. In addition, they have not yet been able to create institutional challenges to global North-dominated organisations such as the IMF and World Bank and have for the most part not changed the character of policymaking from a neo-liberal model to one that invests more in the uplift of the poor in their own countries.

If Pakistan truly seeks a turn from the crushing policies of the IMF and World Bank that have routinely exacerbated poverty in developing countries, then building an alliance with BRICS nations may prove a fruitful avenue. If the new leaders of Pakistan wish to chart a course away from geopolitical subjugation, they must also make a visible move away from all sorts of neo-liberal interventions, including the economic basis that always lets the rich win and ensures that the poor will lose.

3 Apple’s Cook hints at wearable devices (Shira Ovide & Evelyn M Rusli in The Wall Street Journal) Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, defending the company's prowess as a tech trend-setter, hinted that wearable devices may play a role in future product plans. He also disclosed that the company had hired Lisa Jackson, who served a controversial stint as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to oversee the company's environmental policies.

Most of Mr. Cook's speech was dedicated to defending Apple's prowess as a tech trend-setter, amid recent complaints that the Silicon Valley company has failed to introduce any groundbreaking products lately. "We have several more game changers in us" that the company has been "working on for a while," Mr. Cook said at the event.

The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Apple is experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would perform some functions of a smartphone, according to people briefed on the effort. Mr. Cook opened his on-stage interview with a barrage of statistics regarding the performance and user satisfaction of Apple's products like the iPhone and iPad, and also hinted that the company has more offerings in TV up its sleeve.

The Apple chief, closing in on two years as CEO, said the company ended last year with an "unprecedented number of new products," including a smaller version of the iPad tablet computer, a new type of Mac laptop with a high-resolution screen, and an overhauled version of its iTunes digital-entertainment software.

4 China’s biggest US play (Dana Mattioli, Dana Cimilluca &David Kesmodel in The Wall Street Journal) China's largest meat processor struck a surprise $4.7 billion agreement to acquire Smithfield Foods Inc., a deal that would mark the biggest Chinese takeover of an American company and underscores the Asian nation's renewed determination to scoop up overseas assets.

Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. agreed to pay $34 a share for Smithfield, the world's largest hog farmer and pork processor. Including debt, the deal values the Smithfield, Va., company at $7.1 billion. People involved in the deal said the purpose of the tie-up is to export more of Smithfield's output to feed rising demand in China.