Daily Telegraph columnist says Darling budget will be blown away.

The Daily Telegraph columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has warned that yesterday's
budget by UK Chancellor Alistair Darling will be blown away. The columnist notes that
while the Federal Reserve is trying to rescue the mortgage industry in the United States, Darling is predicting 2 pct growth in the British economy during 2008.
However, Evans-Pritchard says that the UK chancellor has little room to manoeuvre
given the gathering storm clouds. The budget deficit is at 3 pct of GDP while Germany is running a balance.

I think economically things could be tasty this year but there is no point in talking up a recession. We should try and muddle through. The key market is housing
and if this stays the same or goes slightly up, we could get close to the 2 pct
growth forecast. However, if we benefitted from global growth in the past, we are
probably defenceless against a global downturn, although the pound is certainly taking the strain with a sharp fall against the euro. Anyway if you need a UK accountant, you can go to www.searchaccountant.co.uk

Evans-Pritchard also notes other global strains and stresses. Italy has posted a negative quarter while the housing bubbles have burst in Spain and Ireland.
Japanese multinationals have been affected by the problems in the US market.