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Germany & France Say Goodbye To Recession

admin — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:52:39 +0000

As most economies struggle to make it out of the downturn, Germany and France said goodbye to recession and hello to economic growth in Q02 2009! Both countries reported economic growth of 0.3% during the period, pleasantly surprising analysts who had expected a 0.3% contraction for the European economies.

Unfortunately, the improved performance was not enough to lift the entire EuroZone area out of recession. Nonetheless, the contraction for the 16-nation region was reported at 0.1%, much less than the 2.5% decline recorded in Q01 2009.

Ireland Receives Bad Standard & Poor’s Rating

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:33:01 +0000

The Irish Republic (Ireland) received another round of bad news as Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) lowered its sovereign debt rating for the second time this year. S&P cut the rating on Ireland’s government debt by one level to AA from AA+.

Just three months ago, the former ‘Celtic Tiger’ had its top-notch AAA rating lowered, as its public finances weakened as a result of the recession. The country, once revered for its robust growth, became the first eurozone country to fall into a recession last year.

Australia Dodges Recession

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:30:25 +0000

Australia surprised the world as news broke that it is still dodging the global recession that has hit virtually every other nation. Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Michael RUDD announced that the island-continent was the only advanced economy not in the midst of a downturn currently, though he added that the country is still at risk since imports continue to fall.

Australia’s economy grew 0.4% for the first three months of 2009, versus a 0.5% contraction for Q04 2008. GDP was boosted by higher exports and consumer spending.