--UK's Brown says US economy undergoing "necessary slowing"
--Brown hopes UK budget forecasts will reflect cautious optimism
--Brown: No indiscriminate across-the-board tax cuts in UK budget

By BridgeNews
London--Feb. 5--U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said Monday that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the prospects for U.K. economic growth despite what he described as a "necessary slowing" in the United States.
He said it seemed the effects from the U.S. economy were being offset by decent growth in the euro zone and some parts of Asia. On the budget, Brown ruled out any "indiscriminate, across-the-board" tax cuts to sweeten the upcoming general election.