IMF cuts global growth forecasts; Alcatel-Lucent cuts 10,000 jobs; India voters seen to be undecided

1 IMF cuts global growth forecasts (Larry Elliott in The Guardian) Badly handled budget cuts in the US and a slowdown in activity in big developing countries mean the global economy will expand more slowly than expected this year, the International Monetary Fund has said. Revising down its forecasts for growth in both 2013 and 2014, the fund warned that the performance could be even more lacklustre and said the Federal Reserve, the American central bank, needed to take special care as it contemplated reducing its colossal stimulus to the world's biggest economy.

The IMF now expects the global economy to expand by 2.9% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2014 – down by 0.3 and 0.2 points respectively on its last predictions, made in July – despite signs of recovery in the euro area. The half-yearly analysis of global trends was critical of the way across the board budget cuts had been handled in Washington, noting that they had contributed to weaker US growth.

IMF forecasts now show the US growing by 1.6% this year and 2.6% in 2014, down 0.1 and 0.2 points on its last estimates. Even so, it said it was time for the Fed to make plans for an exit from ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing, the bond-buying strategy that has sought to pump credit into the US economy.
The IMF said the impulse to stronger global growth in 2014 was expected to come mainly from the US, where activity is predicted to move into a higher gear as the impact of higher taxes and lower spending eases and the Fed only slowly withdraws its stimulus.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/08/imf-cuts-global-economic-growth-forecasts-weo

2 Alcatel-Lucent to cut 10,000 jobs (BBC) Telecoms equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent plans to cut 10,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs. The cuts represent 14% of its 72,000 workforce and 900 of those job losses will be made in France. The company has reported losses in the previous five quarters and hopes to save $1.4bn through costs cuts by 2015. Shares in Alcatel-Lucent rose 2% following the news. 

Chief executive Michel Combes said the decisions were "difficult". Alcatel-Lucent competes with Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia. Mr Combes said the cuts were necessary to give the company an "industrially sustainable future" and the company's employees could expect an "open and transparent dialogue". Alcatel-Lucent's most recent cuts are in addition to the 5,000 announced in July. Last year the firm reported losses of 1.2bn euros ($1.6bn). In July rival Ericsson reported a sharp rise in quarterly profits, helped by cost cuts and higher profit margins.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24441705

3 India voters seen to be undecided (R Jai Krishna in The Wall Street Journal) In India, how people vote has historically been directed by family allegiances or a preference for a particular politician. Ahead of national polls due by May, there has been a shift, according to a Google Inc. survey of 41,000 of the electorate in 86 Indian cities. The survey, conducted in July and August, found that 42% of urban voters in India haven’t decided who they will vote for in the election. 

Only 11% said the choice of prime ministerial candidate would influence the way they voted, said the survey. More than one in three voters (35%) said their local candidate would have the most influence on the way they voted, the survey found, while 36% said the political party would be the biggest influence. The Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s main opposition party, has selected Narendra Modias its candidate for prime minister, while the ruling Congress party is widely expected to go for Rahul Gandhi. 

Google conducted the study in part to find out how much the Internet would affect the outcome of the elections. Over one third (37%) of registered urban voters are online and use the Internet regularly, Google said. Nationwide, only about 12% of Indians have access to the Internet. India is the world’s second-most populous country, with more than 1.2 billion people. 

The most searched Indian politicians on Google between March and August were as follows: 1. Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. 2. Rahul Gandhi, vice president of the Congress party. 3. Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party. 4. Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister. 5. Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party. 6. Jayalalithaa [Jayaram], chief minister of Tamil Nadu. 7. Akhilesh Yadav, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. 8. Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar state in eastern India. 9. Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition in the lower house of Parliament. 10. Digvijay Singh, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh in central India and a general secretary of Congress.

The BJP was the most searched political party, followed by Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. 
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/10/08/google-survey-says-indian-voters-undecided/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=irt