Thursday, September 5, 2013

Consumer prices in the single currency bloc rose 1.3pc in the year to August, a fall from July’s 1.6pc and below expectations of a fall to 1.4pc, largely driven by lower energy costs.  The drop, bringing inflation well below the bank’s target of just under 2pc, gives the bank plenty of room to cut its interest rate again and is likely to place the issue at the center of next week’s debate.  Board members have sent out mixed messages in the run-up to their next meeting. Executive board member Peter Praet, speaking earlier this month, said the bank “had not reached the lower bound on our key interest rates” and had not “run out of ammunition”.  Cyprus’ Panicos Demetriades also said another cut was still “on the cards”.   However, more recent remarks by board member Ewald Nowotny indicated that the nascent recovery in the eurozone will prevent the ECB from lowering rates. “I would not see many arguments now for a rate cut,” he said.  Joblessness in the euro area stayed at its record-high of 12.1pc in July, though the headline figure masks huge variations stretching from just 4.8pc in Austria to 27.6pc in Greece.  The overall rate has now remained unchanged for four straight months.  While signals of economic strength are not yet eroding unemployment in the bloc, they are boosting business sentiment, which this month rose sharply, even in some countries where unemployment is still high.  Confidence among business managers in the eurozone polled by the European Commission climbed for a fourth successive month in August.  Meanwhile, in Portugal, the government has vowed to meet its cost-cutting targets under its EU-IMF bail-out programme despite opposition to its austerity package, which suffered a third major setback on Thursday when the constitutional court blocked a bill allowing it to fire public sector workers.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Germans go to the polls on 22 September in an election that will send reverberations around Europe.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is running for a third term.

She has earned a reputation as an unbending exponent of reform and austerity.

Opponents say she has exacerbated hardship across Europe. Supporters, that she is only doing what is necessary.

If you live in the European Union, outside Germany, the BBC would like your views on the forthcoming elections and the possible repercussions of the result.

Anonymous said...

Armenia ar fi urmat sa parafeze, ca si Moldova si Georgia, la summitul Parteneriatului Estic de la Vilnius, din luna noiembrie, Acordul de asociere cu Uniunea Europeană. Din punct de vedere legal, o ţara membra a unei Uniunii Vamale diferita de cea a Uniunii Europene nu poate avea un acord de asociere si de comerţ liber si cu Uniunea Europeană, transmite Radio Europa Liberă.

„Am confirmat intenţia Armeniei de a se alatura Uniunii Vamale şi procesului de formare a Uniunii Euro Asiatice. Este o decizie reieşită din interesele naţionale ale Armeniei. Decizia acesta nu constituie însă un refuz de a continua dialogul cu structurile europene. Intenţionăm să continuăm aceste reforme în viitor…”, a spus preşedintele de la Erevan, care a vorbit şi despre faptul ca Armenia face parte si din alianţa militară dominata de Rusia a Organizaţiei Tratatului de Securitate Colectiva.

Desi Sarkisian a vorbit despre o continuare a dialogului Armeniei cu structurile Uniunii Europene, se ştie că, din punct de vedere legal, apartanenta la Uniunea Vamală Rusia-Belarus Kazahstan nu este „compatibila” cu un acord de comerţ liber si cuprinzător si cu Uniunea Europeana.

Rusia dă o lovitură teribilă Uniunii Europene geopolitica
Preşedintele Armeniei, Serj Sarkisian, si Vladimir Putin (foto> kremlin.ru)

Preşedintele comitetului pentru afaceri externe al Paerlamentului European, Elmar Brok a declarat postului de radio Europa Liberă că este dezamagit de decizia Erevanului si că, in opinia sa, Armenia a cedat presiunilor facute de Rusia: „Imi pare tare rău. Am vorbit si eu cu preşedintele Armeniei. Ştim că Rusia exercita presiuni incredibile asupra Armeniei din cauza situației dificile cu Azerbaijanul si Nagorno-Karabah. O ţara mică precum Armenia a fost şantajata pentru a ajunge la o astfel de decizie. Imi pare foarte rău, pentru ca, din punct de vedere legal, nu este posibil sa fii membru deplin al Uniunii Vamale şi să ai şi un Acord de asociere şi de comerţ liber cu Uniunea Europeană.”

Vladimir Putin a salutat decizia preşedintelui Sarkisian, spunind ca ea va fi in folosul ambelor ţări: „Rusia sprijina decizia Armeniei de a participa la Uniunea Vamală si la procesul de integrare euro-asiatic. Vom face tot ce vom putea pentru a facilita acest proces. Sunt încrezător că participarea Erevanului la structurile integrării euroasiatice va deveni un impuls puternic pentru cooperarea noastra ecoonomica”

Anonymous said...

"Let Allah sort it out." That is Sarah Palin's succinct argument against U.S. intervention into Syria. And I have to be honest: I'm impressed with Palin on this one. Not with her horribly callous recommendation, made via Facebook

Anonymous said...

"Let Allah sort it out." That is Sarah Palin's succinct argument against U.S. intervention into Syria. And I have to be honest: I'm impressed with Palin on this one. Not with her horribly callous recommendation, made via Facebook

Anonymous said...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail