Business and City Summary

Call for speedier

economic reform The Adam Smith Institute has warned that Eastern European economies face collapse unless Western-style economic reforms are speeded up.

The right-wing think tank argues that privatisation of Eastern European industries is a sham 'unsupported by practical measures', and adds that it would take Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia 28 years to privatise half their state companies on present performance.

Car sales to fall

The Economist Intelligence Unit, in its latest forecast for Europe's vehicle markets, predicts a further 2.8 per cent decline in Western Europe next year, with new car registrations falling below 13 million for the first time since 1987.

Decline in Japan Japan's big manufacturers are likely to suffer an annual decline in unconsolidated sales for the year to March 1993, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported yesterday - the first drop since 1986, when the domestic economy was hit by the sharp appreciation of the yen.