Tag Archives: euro zone

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Latvia Joins Euro But Latvians Are Not Thrilled

The euro has become an 18-nation shared currency in the first day of the year as Latvia joined euro area member states. But not all are excited about the news as half of Latvians, it seems, stand in opposition to the currency on fears of price hikes.

The citizens of the former Soviet republic suffered through the worst depression in 2008-2009 when the economy shrank by more than a fifth. In efforts to shore up the country’s finances and keep at pace with the Euro, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis followed a bailout programme that mandate austerity measures equalling 16 percent of Latvian gross domestic product. In the third quarter of last year the nation’s economy exhibited the highest pace of growth in the EU at 4.5 percent.

Finance Mister Andris Vilks, who set the adoption of the euro as one of Latvia’s key goals announced on Wednesday: “Today is a very important day for Latvia, difficult to imagine three or four years ago. Everything is just beginning for Latvia.”

Latvia became the fourth former communist country in the euro after Slovakia, Slovenia, and Estonia, an effort the nation’s politicians kept at for over 20 years. Not everyone, however, agrees with the ruling powers. The move has double the opponents than it has supporters among a population of 2 million, according to opinion polls. Major fears of an increase in prices and new financial responsibilities for the country in the currency union make many Latvians pessimistic about future prospects.

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Will Slump in Euro Zone Economy Prove Draghi’s Rate Cut Right?

Investors turn to their attention to the euro zone this week, as they await the release of growth data to gauge the strength of European economy as the initial signs of recovery appear to have slowed down, supporting Mario Draghi’s case to cut interest rates in an attempt to boost the economy.

The third quarter is expected to have recorded a mere 0.1 percent rise in gross domestic product in analyst’s projections. In the hours leading to the release of the report on 14th November, economists predict that data from Germany, France and Italy will already begin to indicate the growth halt.

Negative data would confirm that recovery is diminishing after a second-quarter jump of 0.3 percent that signalled the end of the region’s longest recession. The data are released one week after the European Central Bank president mentioned that the risk of “prolonged” period of low inflation as he announced the surprised rate cut to 0.25 percent.

The GDP data for the 17-nation euro area will be released by the European Union’s statistic office in Luxembourg at 11 a.m. on 14th November in a long series of European data publications. The day opens with France’s report at 7:30 a.m. in Paris, where economists expect economy to have staled.

Just last week, on 8th November, France was downgraded to AA by Startd and Poor’s, which cited that the current policies of President Francois Hollande’s government are “unlikely to substantially raise France’s medium-term growth prospects.”

Italian data, released in Rome at 10 a.m. on the same day, are expected to show a ninth straight quarter of losses. Antonio Golini, acting chairman of Istat, the Italian national statistics office, told lawmakers on 29th October that the economy shrank in the three months through September, predicting a 1.8 percent drop in GDP for the year.

More optimistic outlooks anticipate that enough momentum elsewhere in the currency bloc to accelerate growth toward the end of the year despite the recession in the region’s second- and third-biggest economies.

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European Index Futures Falls

European stock-index futures dropped yesterday. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures fell 0,5 percent and Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (SPA) contracts slid 0.4 percent.

Data scheduled for release later today is forecast to show consumer confidence in euro area to have climbed since July 2011.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index, however, rose for the ninth day yesterday, recording its longest upwards trend since June 2010.

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