22/05/2013 00:00
TW
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By Jason Moore CAR sales have fallen, unemployment is rising and if you walk around Palma and the rest of Majorca you can see For Sale signs everywhere meanwhile the Balearic government says that there is no reason to be alarmed. It will be alright on the night appears to be the message from the Balearic government at the moment because we can allegedly look forward to a great holiday season. We allegedly had a great season last year and still we are in the midst of an important slowdown which is worse than the mainland. Just look at our economic growth, it is behind the national average. What the Balearic government should be doing is trying to help the ailing building industry which has shed thousands of jobs. While the credit crunch is obviously outside the realms of power of the Balearic government they should think of ways to try and help relaunch the economy before it is too late.

T HE British government should give the green light this week after years of delays to new aircraft carriers to the Royal Navy. It is a multi-billion pound investment which will safeguard thousands of jobs, including hundreds in Gordon Brown´s constituency. At 60'000 tons they will be the biggest warships ever built in Britain. But the cost will be high. The army and the Royal Air Force are opposed to the plan on the grounds that other more vital equipment is needed. At a time when the British services are even short of boots and rifles it seems amazing that a large part of the defence budget is to be spent on two giant warships which probably belong to a by-gone era. However, two ships of this size could help relaunch the British shipbuilding industry.