Profits at pharmaceutical companies have been declining or showing little growth for the last year as austerity measures across Europe lead to cuts in health care spending. Some analysts say this trend could continue until at least 2014. Budget cuts mean that many European governments are not willing to pay as much for pills. But … Continue reading
SPAIN’S new government is learning to be wary of microphones. Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, was caught by one claiming his labour reform would provoke strikes. Luis de Guindos, the economy minister, was overheard calling it extremely aggressive. When the reform was unveiled in a decree of February 10th, expectations were of a radical simplification … Continue reading
EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn has said that Ireland’s economy is continuing to recover. Mr Rehn said that the EU-IMF bailout has contributed to the recovery through financial assistance and the restructuring and recapitalisation of the banking sector. This is despite figures showing an expected slowdown in exports and an increase in … Continue reading
The euro zone’s service sector shrank unexpectedly this month, reviving fears that the economy risks sinking into recession, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Markit’s Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 from January’s 50.4, missing even the lowest forecast in a Reuters poll of 44 economists whose predictions centred on a rise … Continue reading
The Greek economy will only return to growth in 2014 after a four-year recession that will shrink output by 17 percent, EU officials said on Tuesday, warning Athens it needs to cut wages further to bring its public debt to manageable levels. Speaking hours after euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130 billion euro ($172 … Continue reading
The Greek economy will only return to growth in 2014 after a four-year recession that will shrink output by 17 percent, EU officials said on Tuesday, warning Athens it needs to cut wages further to bring its public debt to manageable levels. Speaking hours after euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130 billion euro ($172 … Continue reading
Swedish house prices may drop further as the largest Nordic economy risks falling into a recession, according to Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves. “It’s not unreasonable to assume that house prices may fall a bit, or at least park at today’s level,” Ingves said yesterday in an interview in Stockholm. “The pace of lending is significantly … Continue reading
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa warned on Monday that a surging yen and the European Union’s sovereign-debt crisis were slowing Japan’s post tsunami economic recovery. The strong yen and the European financial crisis are related because as investors dump the euro, they look for what they feel are safe haven currencies like the Japanese yen … Continue reading
The German finance ministry is actively pushing for Greece to declare itself bankrupt and to agree a “haircut” on the bulk of its debts held by banks, a move that would be classed as a default by financial markets. Eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday to approve the next tranche of loans from the EU … Continue reading
Even while the Socialists were still in power, Spain took the initiative in slashing mercilessly into welfare budgets and reducing salaries, vowing to get a handle on a dangerous pile of deficits and debts. The conservative prime minister elected three months ago, Mariano Rajoy, has pursued the cutback campaign even more vigorously, raising taxes and … Continue reading
The Czech Republic’s Statistics Office says the country’s economy shrank by a 0.3 percent in the final three months of 2011 to slip into recession after a brief recovery. The economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter after it was down by 0.1 percent in the third quarter — the technical definition of a recession. … Continue reading
Viola Caon left her Italian home to find work. Now she returns to see how her former classmates are faring… and in the week that shocking figures showed how badly Europe’s youth is being hit by the unemployment crisis, we also talk to hard-hit twentysomethings in Athens and Madrid Maybe being young is never easy. … Continue reading
Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high at the end of last year, the Eurostat agency has said. The jobless rate in the 17 countries that use the single currency was 10.4% in December, unchanged from November’s figure which was revised up from 10.3%. Some 16.5 million people were out of work in the … Continue reading