Italy employers slash GDP outlook in abyss | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Italy employers slash GDP outlook in abyss
| Reuters

Confindustria estimated the economy would contract by 2.4 percent in 2012, compared with a December forecast for a 1.6 percent fall. Gross domestic product would fall 0.3 percent next year, compared with a previously forecast 0.6 percent increase.
"We're in the abyss," Luca Paolazzi, head of Confindustria's research unit, commented as he presented the new forecasts.
"We're not in a war, but the economic damage caused so far is equivalent to a conflict, and the most vital and valuable parts of the Italian system have been hit: manufacturers and the young generations," he said.
The deeper-than-expected contraction will slow Italy's deficit reduction, with the budget shortfall seen at 2.6 percent of GDP in 2012 and 1.6 percent in 2013, far worse than the government's forecasts.