FINANCE

Looming election clouds recovery forecast

RIGA - Latvia’s GDP is expected to fall by about three percent this year, says head of the Central Statistical Bureau Aija Zigure, reports Nozare.lv. Despite the difficulties in accurately predicting future economic performance, she said the “Trends show that the economic free fall has ended, and we now must stabilize and move ahead.” Zigure added that a better picture of the economy will come at the end of the second quarter. GDP for 2009 dropped 18 percent, based on seasonally-unadjusted data. In the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, GD... Full story...

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Current account swings to surplus...

Restocking boosts Q4 results...

Looming election clouds recovery forecast...

Emerging Europe excludes Baltics...

Latvia ends year with trade surplus...

High praise for Dombrovskis’ crisis leadership...

Retail sales down but not out...

Rating agencies see signs of stabilization...

Slowdown shrinks trade deficit...

Investor confidence grows on Estonia’s euro goal...

Housing sector shows improvement...

Another down year for Baltics...

Greek troubles threaten eurozone expansion...

One-time gains boost output...

Q4 GDP results deliver mixed signals...

Weak economy helps current account balance...

Financial market reform nears agreement...

Czech Republic balks at Latvian loan...

Lithuania urged to continue reforms...

Tough decisions finally showing positive results...

Mar 17, 2010 - Current account swings to surplus...

TALLINN - According to Estonia’s balance of payments report, published on March 11, the current account surplus was 4.6 percent of GDP at the end of last year, writes Postimees Online. In 2008, the current account deficit was still higher than nine percent of GDP. Due to the low point in domestic demand, as well as foreign demand, both exports as well as imports of goods decreased last year. In the context of the entire year, the ac...

Mar 17, 2010 - Restocking boosts Q4 results...

TALLINN - Estonia pulled out of recession last quarter for the first time in two years, exiting the European Union’s third-deepest recession, as exports rose and companies stocked up on alcohol, tobacco and fuel before tax increases take effect, reports Bloomberg. GDP rose a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent, compared with a preliminary estimate of 2.6 percent and a revised decline of 0.5 percent in the third quarter, said the Tallinn-base...

Mar 10, 2010 - Emerging Europe excludes Baltics...

TALLINN - Central and Eastern Europe seem to have emerged from the economic crisis but steady growth will be slow to come and unemployment will remain high, says Vienna-based think tank WIIW, reports news agency AFP. After a deep recession in 2009, “most countries in the region have emerged from the trough of the crisis,” said the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) in a report. Poland was the only count...

Mar 10, 2010 - Latvia ends year with trade surplus...

RIGA - The surplus in Latvia’s current account trade balance at year-end stood at 1.25 billion lats (1.7 billion euros), or 9 percent of GDP, said Bank of Latvia press secretary Martins Gravitis, reports business portal Nozare.lv. In the fourth quarter last year, the surplus in the current account amounted to 12 percent of GDP, and the combined balance of goods and services was positive. Bank investment in equity to cover losses underpin...

Mar 10, 2010 - High praise for Dombrovskis’ crisis leadership...

RIGA - Latvia is in discussions to reduce the size of its bailout loan package after the country’s toughest austerity program has produced strong results in narrowing the budget deficit, said Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, reports Bloomberg. “We have plenty of cash, we have already started negotiations with international lenders to use some of the next installments not as credit, but as a credit line,” Dombrovskis said in...

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