New Zealand Ministers to Meet on Economy

New Zealand government ministers will meet Thursday afternoon for a briefing on the economy, hoping to get an idea of where the economy is heading and minimize the damage being caused by the international recession.

Finance Minister Bill English wants to know whether the economy is following the more positive scenario laid out late last year, or is heading in a more negative direction.

He said things have moved on since the last briefing on the economic outlook which took place before Christmas, Radio Newstalk ZB reported on Thursday.

Thursday's session will involve the ministers with responsibility for transport, state services, finance, infrastructure, commerce and economic development.

Prime Minister John Key also said the government will hold a jobs summit next month to devise ways of preventing redundancies. He said 2009 will be a particularly challenging year with the backdrop of the global economic crisis. Unions and business will be involved in the event.

An economic survey released on Tuesday showed business sector employment intentions at their weakest since 1991, with employers warning of impending job losses.

And on Wednesday, business consultancy firm Dun & Bradstreet said New Zealand's outlook was pessimistic because of high consumer debt, falling house prices, diminishing exports and lower tourist numbers.

It said demand from Asia -- critical to New Zealand's economic performance -- was expected to decrease sharply this year.

Source: CRIEnglish