Tag: Eurozone
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Alexander Stubb: Upholding Niinistö's legacy in Finland's foreign policy
This election is especially significant due to Finland’s strategic position, sharing an extensive 830-mile border with Russia, amidst a period of heightened geopolitical tensions and shifting alliances. The role of the Finnish president, far from being merely ceremonial, encompasses significant responsibilities in foreign policy, positioning the newly elected president at the helm of navigating Finland’s…
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Digital euro and mobile instant payment solution: A secure future for Europe’s digitizing economy
Consumers now expect payments that are efficient, user-friendly and immediate. Currently, the European payment world is discussing the digital euro, which is designed as a supplement to cash. This digital counterpart will not only strengthen Europe’s strategic independence in day-to-day affairs, but also stimulate competition within the Eurozone. Throughout the two-year research phase, which ends…
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Wider Europe Briefing: All You Need To Know As All Eyes Turn To Spain
Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL’s newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe’s Eastern neighborhoods. I’m RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I’m drilling down on two big meetings taking place in Granada this week: the European Political…
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There are still plenty of Finnish house building companies filing for bankruptcy
Helsingin sanomat newspaper highlighted Last week, the monthly number of bankruptcy filings has been as high only seven times since 2003, with the record 53 set in February 2009. Between January and August, 294 house building companies have started bankruptcy proceedings, which has left the sector with the worst year since the beginning of the…
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Industrial slowdown continues as economic expert foresees challenges ahead
According to Jukka Appelqvist, Chief Economist at the Central Chamber of Commerce, the weakening industrial conditions resemble a slow-leaking ship that’s proving difficult to repair. So far, production within the factories has been sustained reasonably well based on earlier orders, but order backlogs are steadily depleting. Unfortunately, there’s no immediate relief in sight for the…
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Eurozone Q2 GDP rebounds, inflation slows but remains a concern
© Provided by Xinhua ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated at a press conference last Thursday following the Governing Council meeting that the interest rate will be the bank’s primary tool to bring down inflation, which the ECB says has remained “too high for too long.” BRUSSELS, July 31 (Xinhua) — The eurozone’s gross domestic product…
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Major EU economies report mixed Q2 performances amid high inflation
© Provided by Xinhua According to data firm Statista, the inflation rate in the EU was 6.4 percent in June, with prices rising fastest in Hungary, which had an inflation rate of 19.9 percent. The inflation rates in France, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden stood at 5.3 percent, 6.8 percent, 4.8 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.…
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Beyonce blames the increase in inflation in the EU country
Concerts with the American R&B superstar may have affected Swedish inflation last month, a chief economist at Danske Bank said Swedish inflation fell less than expected in May, as Beyonce fans flocked from all over the world to her concerts in Stockholm, which possibly led to an increase in hotel and restaurant prices, data published…
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The US dollar softens as traders await the debt ceiling vote
NEW YORK, May 30 (Xinhua) — The U.S. dollar weakened on Tuesday as traders awaited the debt ceiling vote in Congress. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.10 percent to 104.1665 in late trade. Although some progress was made on a deal, some Republicans said they would resist the…
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YLE: NATO membership also boosts the Finnish economy
“A foreign company may now be more willing to place a battery factory or a data center on Finnish soil,” he said. He added that the accession process alone brought positive international publicity to the country, which aroused interest among investors as well. Jan von GerichNordea’s chief analyst, in March 2022 viewed that Russia’s attack…
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Spending cuts of six billion euros can be harmful to Finland, an economist tells YLE
Kuoppamäki on Tuesday told According to YLE, achieving the goal with spending cuts could even be harmful to the national economy and added that there is almost no room for large tax increases. “Six billion euros is a very good, but also an ambitious goal. It is very difficult to achieve that with just spending…
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Sweden’s housing crisis deepens – Bloomberg
The Nordic country’s real estate market is among the worst affected globally, says the outlet Swedish house prices continued to fall in March as stubborn inflation and rising borrowing costs prolong a crisis in the country’s housing market. House prices in the biggest Nordic economy fell 0.8% last month, data from state-owned mortgage institute SBAB…
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Debt anxiety, the rights of indigenous peoples and freedom of speech: Finland in the world press
The elections of Finland, a member of the Nordic eurozone, highlight their long-term caution, which is the reason why they have been strict in the EU negotiations on loosening debt regulations. “The government bond market has a long memory and the only right way to be in this market is to strive for a long-term…
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Danske Bank updates its investment outlook: Stocks and bonds are weighted neutral
The increase in the neutral weight of stocks is due to the fact that the darkest clouds in the market have disappeared. Kivipelto, however, advises stock investors to be cautious about geographical diversification. “We are overweight in emerging markets. In addition, we still have a neutral weight on US and Japanese stocks. Regarding Europe, we…
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Inflation in Sweden is three decades high
The data show that electricity and food are peaking higher than expected price growth Inflation in Sweden has soared to double digits for the first time in more than thirty years, driven by rising electricity and food prices, Statistics Sweden said on Friday. Sweden’s inflation adjusted for fixed interest rates (KPIF), the measure used by…
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Croatia becomes a fully integrated EU member
ZAGREB, Croatia: On January 1, Croatia became a full member of the European Union, removed dozens of border controls and switched its currency to the euro. After joining the EU’s ID-check-free Schengen zone, Croats now belong to nearly 420 million people who can freely travel around the bloc’s 27 member states without passports for work…
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What major events does 2023 have in store
From King Charles III’s upcoming coronation at Westminster Abbey to the first ever Africa Super League and commemorating the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death, FRANCE 24 looks ahead to the new year and shares some of the major events coming up in 2023. Croatia adopts the Euro and joins the Schengen Area More than…
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Eurozone bailout fund serves no purpose: Italy’s Meloni
ROME, Italy: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said the eurozone bailout fund serves no useful purpose, and has told the European Central Bank (ECB) to be more careful in how it communicates. In a three-hour press conference at the end of the year, Meloni, leader of the hard-right Brothers of Italy party, said, “The…
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Rehn: A recession in the Eurozone would be a disadvantage for Finland rather than a collapse
“The rising cost of energy has also increased food prices. The increase in food prices affects all citizens, but especially those with low incomes, for whom the food bill eats up the lion’s share of the income, he said. quoted saying Helsingin Sanomat’s public hearing in the parliament’s trade committee. Eurostat has reported that consumer…
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The quick assessment raises concerns about a recession in Finland
Adjusted production in April-June grew by 1.7 percent from the previous quarter. The estimate raised concerns among many economists that the contraction of the national economy will continue in the fourth quarter and thereby slide into recession. The technical definition of a recession is negative GDP growth for two consecutive quarters. “That’s how it starts,…
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EU officials speak out against Scottish nationalist leader over euro
Despite Nicola Sturgeon’s claims, it will be “impossible” for Scotland to join the bloc and not the single currency, officials say. Scotland will need “legally commit” to join the euro if it becomes independent and seeks membership of the European Union, two EU officials told the Herald on Sunday. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who…
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Accelerated inflation and rising interest rates caused fluctuations in the market
“In Europe, the energy crisis and the ongoing war in Ukraine cause gloomy signs about the economic outlook. However, the investment market is driven by the United States, where the economic issues are clearer and the war more distant. 49 percent of Varma’s entire investment portfolio continued to generate positive returns, says Varma’s CEO. Risto…
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The Governor of the Bank of Finland warns of a serious economic disruption
Stagflation refers to slow economic growth and high unemployment as well as constantly rising consumer prices. In September, the ECB estimated that the euro area economy could contract by 0.9 percent in 2023 if Russia stops selling natural gas and oil transported by sea to Europe and Europe does not find alternative sources of supply.…
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Insolvencies increase sharply when state support ends
Globally, the number of defaults has increased this year as governments wind down their pandemic support programs. Due to this, the number of payment defaults has been increasing, especially in many Western European countries and in Australia and Canada. We expect the number of insolvent companies to increase strongly from last year, particularly in the…
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Marin: Politicians must be able to discuss economic policy coordination
“The root cause of inflation is the high price of energy, so we need to focus on two things in particular. We need to rapidly increase energy production to solve this supply problem. And another thing we need to discuss and find solutions for is energy pricing,” he said quoted saying from STT. He considered…
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July inflation in the euro area at 8.9 percent on an annual basis
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, confirmed that inflation in the euro zone hit a new record high of 8.9 percent year-on-year in July, with core measures, excluding the most volatile components, also rising. Consumer prices in the 19 eurozone countries rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in July, the highest since the launch of…
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Germany has lessons to learn about reducing gas demand to preserve EU unity
On Tuesday, the EU reached a draft agreement that member states will voluntarily reduce gas consumption by 15 percent from August to March. The load will fall unevenly given that some countries are more dependent than others on Russian gas. But beyond what the text says, analysts say countries that failed to heed warnings about…
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The EU removes the last obstacle to Croatia’s adoption of the euro currency
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union (EU) has removed the last obstacles for Croatia to adopt the euro currency, the first expansion of the currency bloc in almost a decade. EU finance ministers approved three related laws enabling Croatia to become the 20th member of the eurozone on 1 January. Lithuania was the last country to…
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The euro weakens to parity with the dollar
The euro weakened to the level of the dollar on Tuesday for the first time since the introduction of the currency in 2002. Finland was one of the first members of the Eurozone – an informal term for countries that belong to the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and use the euro as their…
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Australian Labor is not alone. Left parties are making a comeback
One aspect of May’s federal election has been strangely overlooked: Labor’s gains follow a pattern among the main center-left parties in Europe and comparable countries. Traditional social democratic and workers-based parties are re-emerging and now hold offices (alone or in coalition) in all Scandinavia and in Germany, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand. Where the last…
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EU countries use strategies to tackle rising petrol pump prices: report
The main factor driving up prices is the supply problems associated with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The average price of petrol rose momentarily to more than € 2 per liter as the conflict escalated in February, but the latest rise is part of a steady rise in prices amid a shortage of supply…
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Eurostat: Alcohol prices in Finland the highest in the EU last year
In Finland, the prices of alcoholic beverages were the highest in the EU last year, according to a price comparison program coordinated by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office. According to the study, the price of alcohol in Finland was 120 per cent higher than the EU average in 2021. This is a significant increase…
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APN podcast: The Finnish “market” tradition
Eurozone inflation accelerated to a record 8.1 per cent in May, and this week’s All Points North examines how Finland can cope with rising prices. "Now the big question is how will wage earners adjust to this higher inflation, will there be additional wage increases, how will companies react, what does that mean for collective…
