US slowdown more serious then forecast

The United Nations is warning that the economic slowdown in the United States could be more serious than forecast, and says Europe is not immune to the downturn.

The UN's economic survey for Europe warns that Europe will lose trade from regions such as Latin America and South-East Asia which are expected to take the brunt of the US downturn.

The BBC correspondent in Geneva says that if western Europe suffers then central and eastern Europe do too - their economic growth has been fuelled by rising exports to the European Union.

The survey warns that rising unemployment in central and eastern Europe could create social tensions which would set back economic and political transformations.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service