The purpose of harmonised competitive indicators is to show changes in relative competitiveness of countries. They are are also consistent with the real effective exchange rates (EERs) of the euro. This shows the divergence in competitiveness between a country like Germany De (improved competitiveness) and other countries like Greece and Ireland which have seen higher …
Interesting perspective from Norbert Walter a former chief economist of Deutsche Bank Group and head of Deutsche Bank Research. – What Euro Crisis? Basically, his view; There isn’t really an economic crisis in the Eurozone If there is a crisis, it could easily be resolved through a bit more immigration and the European Union becoming like …
Readers Question: What policies could Germany / the EU use to help save the Euro? The Euro has many problems. The most obvious outer problem is rising bond yields and the threat of sovereign debt default. Related to sovereign debt default is a banking default, e.g. from Spanish banks which would cause knock-on effects. But, …
The election of Francois Holland as French president is important for changing the dynamics of the EU. There is currently a strong acceptance of the need for continued austerity and fiscal targets. However, under the weight of soaring unemployment, European voters are becoming increasingly disenchanted with this recipe for low growth and high unemployment. But, …
Inflation in the UK remains relatively high given the state of the economy. It continues to be above the Bank of England’s target of 1-3%. However, the MPC will not be overly concerned about inflation. They are more worried about the weak prospects for economic growth and will be ‘hoping’ / predicting inflation will continue …
What are the Global Imbalances? US ran a large and persistent current account deficit (imports higher than exports) of up to 6.5% of GDP in 2006 Diagram of Current Account Surplus / Deficit in US and rest of world source: (1) 2. China ran a large current account surplus, accumulated foreign reserves, kept Yuan undervalued …
Readers Question: How can a larger government fiscal deficit case a larger international trade deficit Firstly, it is important not to confuse the two deficits. Government fiscal deficit occurs when government spending is greater than tax revenues. The deficit is the annual government borrowing requirement, measured by Public Sector Net Borrowing. International Trade deficit implies …
Readers Question: I keep reading about our country’s trade deficit which was £3bn in April. How does that work, if a country is spending more than it’s earning? Are we getting ourselves into more debt? I read that Germany has a trade surplus, which is not surprising but why can’t we do the same? There …