Eurozone inflation falls to five-year low as unemployment stays flat at 11.5 per cent August 29, 2014 Consumer price inflation in the eurozone dropped to 0.3 per cent in August, its lowest level since October 2009, as unemployment remained stubbornly flat at 11.5 per cent, official figures published this morning showed. Although the figures were underwhelming, they met analyst expectations. The drop in inflation was largely driven by energy prices, which fell [...]
Misery growing for Eurozone as growth falters and consumer confidence wavers August 21, 2014 The Eurozone’s major economies are facing another slowdown, with confidence and output sliding even further after the bloc’s growth ground to a halt in the second quarter of the year. Grim figures yesterday from data firm Markit showed both services and manufacturing firms in Europe reporting a slower expansion this month. The purchasing managers’ index [...]
Divergence looms for Eurozone and US in Jackson Hole speeches August 21, 2014 WORLD-famous economists arrived at Jackson Hole yesterday, as the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual conference on monetary policy begins. Speeches today will come from Fed chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi, the world’s two most important monetary policymakers. Analysts suspect that the speeches will display an emerging division between the [...]
As Nobel laureates slam Eurozone policy, will historians “tar and feather” its central bank? August 21, 2014 Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics, says Yes. With the Eurozone’s feeble recovery grinding to a halt, and inflation dangerously close to zero, there is a clear case for the European Central Bank (ECB) to do all it can to stimulate the economy. Policies announced in June to offer more liquidity to banks [...]
Eurozone manufacturing dips as job creation “stagnates” August 21, 2014 Weak recovery in Europe's manufacturing industry continued in August, data published this morning showed. The Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures the strength of the region's manufacturing and services sectors, revealed growth slowed between July and August. The headline Composite Output Index fell to 52.8 (any figure above 50 shows growth) from 53.8 [...]
Eurozone construction declines for second month running August 20, 2014 Construction output in the Eurozone has fallen yet again. From May to June, output went down by 0.7 per cent according to Eurostat, the statistical office for the European Union. This follows May's similarly disappointing result, when construction fell 1.4 per cent compared to April. Before that, the Eurozone had seen largely positive [...]
Eurozone exports to Russia down 14 per cent in 2014 August 18, 2014 Exports and imports between the Eurozone and Russia have plummeted in the period January to May, figures from Eurostat revealed today. There was a 14 per cent decline in exports from to Russia between January and June 2014 compared with the same period last year. Imports from Russia are also down seven per cent [...]
Eurozone recovery comes to stand still as growth stalls, inflation flatlines and debt piles up August 14, 2014 The Eurozone’s already feeble recovery came to a complete halt in the second quarter, with the threat of deflation and growing piles of debt leaving the currency bloc exposed to economic shocks. Dreary figures released yesterday showed that the euro area did not grow at all in the three months to June, while the previously [...]
As Eurozone growth flatlines, is the bloc facing a lost decade? August 14, 2014 Sam Bowman, research director at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. A quarter of Spanish workers are unemployed. Youth unemployment in Greece is above 50 per cent. All Italian growth in the last 15 years has been wiped out. And Germany’s economy, previously healthy, shrunk in the second quarter. Across the Eurozone, unemployment is above [...]
No Eurozone GDP growth in second quarter after France and Germany disappoint August 14, 2014 There was zero GDP growth for the Eurozone in the second quarter of 2014, according to figures released today. The seasonally adjusted figures for GDP growth in the 18-country bloc grew by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, and economists had predicted a similar level of growth in the second quarter. The result [...]