Germany will be forced to take on 310 billion euros ($437 billion) in new debt by 2013, according to the country's finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck. He admitted that it will take Germany years to meet EU budget rules. Steinbrueck said Europe's largest economy, battling to emerge form its steepest recession in 60 years, is faced with "mammoth task." There is no alternative to the higher borrowings, Steinbrueck told the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, ahead of signing off on his draft 2010 budget. The draft budget forsees new credit totaling 86 billion euros, the biggest ever in German post-war history. This figure could increase to more than 100 billion euros due to additional costs for a plan to bail out troubled banks. For the current financial year, new credits have been allocated totaling nearly 48 billion euros - also a record. The budget will be the first responsibility of the new administration following September's parliamentary election.
Steinbrueck said Europe's largest economy, battling to emerge form its steepest recession in 60 years, is faced with "mammoth task."
There is no alternative to the higher borrowings, Steinbrueck told the German newspaper Tagesspiegel, ahead of signing off on his draft 2010 budget.
The draft budget forsees new credit totaling 86 billion euros, the biggest ever in German post-war history. This figure could increase to more than 100 billion euros due to additional costs for a plan to bail out troubled banks.
For the current financial year, new credits have been allocated totaling nearly 48 billion euros - also a record. The budget will be the first responsibility of the new administration following September's parliamentary election.
Chancellor Merkel's cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft budget plan which calls for 310 billion euros of new debt in the next four years. In 2010, Berlin is expected to set a post-war record for deficit spending. In the early years of Chancellor Angela Merkel's term in office, her finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, made a name for himself as being tight-fisted, debt averse and committed to balancing Germany's budget. That, though, was before the financial crisis hit. German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has said that the path out of the recession will be a difficult one. Now, Steinbrück is struggling to find ways to pay for Berlin's suddenly profligate spending as it tries to buy its way out of the crisis. On Wednesday, Merkel's cabinet adopted a plan presented by Steinbrück which provides the framework for the next four years of German fiscal planning. In total, it calls for €310 billion ($436 billion) in fresh debt from 2010 to 2013, including a whopping €86.1 billion ($121.2 billion) for 2010, far and away the largest single-year budgetary hole in the history of post-war Germany. The 2010 total could even top €100 billion depending on the development of expenses related to Germany's economic stimulus packages (worth a total of €82 billion) and its bank bailout fund (worth €500 billion). Germany's previous record for fresh debt in a single fiscal year was the €40 billion borrowed in 1996. Steinbrück's new plan calls for new debt to begin falling after 2010, with €71.1 billion necessary in 2011, €58.7 billion in 2012 and €45.9 billion in 2013.
Chancellor Merkel's cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft budget plan which calls for 310 billion euros of new debt in the next four years. In 2010, Berlin is expected to set a post-war record for deficit spending.
In the early years of Chancellor Angela Merkel's term in office, her finance minister, Peer Steinbrück, made a name for himself as being tight-fisted, debt averse and committed to balancing Germany's budget. That, though, was before the financial crisis hit.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück has said that the path out of the recession will be a difficult one. Now, Steinbrück is struggling to find ways to pay for Berlin's suddenly profligate spending as it tries to buy its way out of the crisis.
On Wednesday, Merkel's cabinet adopted a plan presented by Steinbrück which provides the framework for the next four years of German fiscal planning. In total, it calls for €310 billion ($436 billion) in fresh debt from 2010 to 2013, including a whopping €86.1 billion ($121.2 billion) for 2010, far and away the largest single-year budgetary hole in the history of post-war Germany.
The 2010 total could even top €100 billion depending on the development of expenses related to Germany's economic stimulus packages (worth a total of €82 billion) and its bank bailout fund (worth €500 billion). Germany's previous record for fresh debt in a single fiscal year was the €40 billion borrowed in 1996. Steinbrück's new plan calls for new debt to begin falling after 2010, with €71.1 billion necessary in 2011, €58.7 billion in 2012 and €45.9 billion in 2013.
At a meeting in Berlin on Tuesday, the OECD finance ministers agreed to step up the fight against tax evasion, focusing on countries such as Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. The meeting in Berlin on Tuesday brought together 20 finance ministers of the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It was called by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck and his French counterpart Eric Woerth, and was aimed at intensifying the struggle against cross-border tax evasion. After the meeting, Steinbrueck said he was "extraordinarily satisfied" with the results, which constituted "substantial progress." In a final document, the 20 finance ministers agreed to toughen measures against countries which fail to implement OECD tax standards.
The meeting in Berlin on Tuesday brought together 20 finance ministers of the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
It was called by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck and his French counterpart Eric Woerth, and was aimed at intensifying the struggle against cross-border tax evasion.
After the meeting, Steinbrueck said he was "extraordinarily satisfied" with the results, which constituted "substantial progress."
In a final document, the 20 finance ministers agreed to toughen measures against countries which fail to implement OECD tax standards.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An annual report on public finances published by the European Commission on Tuesday (23 June) indicates the cost of government stimulus packages could pale into insignificance when compared to the bill for EU bank bail-outs. The lengthy report says the final cost of bank bail-outs is likely to lie anywhere between 2.75 - 16.5 percent of EU GDP depending on the veracity of underlying assumptions and the ability of governments to recover capital injections and loans. Bank bail-outs across Europe have added to the stain on public finances "Experience shows that the costs were lower when the banking crisis resolution strategy was implemented swiftly, was transparent and received broad political support," said a commission statement. A final bill closer to the report's upper estimate would dwarf the costs of stimulus spending used by EU governments to tackle the economic crisis.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An annual report on public finances published by the European Commission on Tuesday (23 June) indicates the cost of government stimulus packages could pale into insignificance when compared to the bill for EU bank bail-outs.
The lengthy report says the final cost of bank bail-outs is likely to lie anywhere between 2.75 - 16.5 percent of EU GDP depending on the veracity of underlying assumptions and the ability of governments to recover capital injections and loans.
Bank bail-outs across Europe have added to the stain on public finances
"Experience shows that the costs were lower when the banking crisis resolution strategy was implemented swiftly, was transparent and received broad political support," said a commission statement.
A final bill closer to the report's upper estimate would dwarf the costs of stimulus spending used by EU governments to tackle the economic crisis.
The UK is predicted to sink further into the red than any other major developed country next year, an economic body warned today. The fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 14 per cent of economic output in 2010, compared to an average of 8.75 per cent in the 30 most developed markets, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD warned that "public finances have deteriorated sharply" since the beginning of the recession and called on the UK to continue to develop "a strong and credible" framework for reducing the ratio of debt to output. "To improve stability, the government should continue to develop a concrete and comprehensive plan to ensure that debt is on a declining path once recovery takes hold," the OECD said.
The fiscal deficit is expected to rise to 14 per cent of economic output in 2010, compared to an average of 8.75 per cent in the 30 most developed markets, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The OECD warned that "public finances have deteriorated sharply" since the beginning of the recession and called on the UK to continue to develop "a strong and credible" framework for reducing the ratio of debt to output.
"To improve stability, the government should continue to develop a concrete and comprehensive plan to ensure that debt is on a declining path once recovery takes hold," the OECD said.
"To improve stability, the government should continue to develop a concrete and comprehensive plan to ensure that debt is on a declining path once recovery takes hold,"
I think you'll find that anyway they can screw the incoming conservative government works for the current goverment. keep to the Fen Causeway
Chute d'un tiers des commandes à l'industrie dans la zone euro : CHUTE DES COMMANDES À L'INDUSTRIE DANS LA ZONE EUROBRUXELLES (Reuters) - Les commandes à l'industrie dans la zone euro ont enregistré une chute sans précédent de plus d'un tiers au mois d'avril en rythme annuel, selon les données publiées jeudi par Eurostat. Les commandes dans les 16 pays qui composaient la zone euro en avril ont reculé de 1,0% par rapport au mois précédent et de 35,5% sur un an. Le recul est notamment imputable à la baisse des commandes de biens intermédiaires et de biens d'investissement, qui ont chuté respectivement de 38,3% et de 39,1% en rythme annuel, ce qui illustre l'ampleur de la récession dans la zone euro.
BRUXELLES (Reuters) - Les commandes à l'industrie dans la zone euro ont enregistré une chute sans précédent de plus d'un tiers au mois d'avril en rythme annuel, selon les données publiées jeudi par Eurostat.
Les commandes dans les 16 pays qui composaient la zone euro en avril ont reculé de 1,0% par rapport au mois précédent et de 35,5% sur un an.
Le recul est notamment imputable à la baisse des commandes de biens intermédiaires et de biens d'investissement, qui ont chuté respectivement de 38,3% et de 39,1% en rythme annuel, ce qui illustre l'ampleur de la récession dans la zone euro.
Holy Shit! Hey, Grandma Moses started late!
One thing that surprised me about the WSJ story, however, was this assertion: Of course, the current recession is nowhere near severe as the Depression. A great series of charts by the Council on Foreign Relations shows that by almost every measure the Great Depression was more severe by this point in the cycle. Hmm. By this time I thought everyone paying attention to this stuff was familiar with the Eichengreen-O'Rourke work. EO point out that the original Great Depression was most severe in America, while this one is more severe in a number of other countries. So you want to do a world comparison -- and if you do, we're actually tracking the first year of the GD quite closely.
One thing that surprised me about the WSJ story, however, was this assertion:
Of course, the current recession is nowhere near severe as the Depression. A great series of charts by the Council on Foreign Relations shows that by almost every measure the Great Depression was more severe by this point in the cycle.
Hmm. By this time I thought everyone paying attention to this stuff was familiar with the Eichengreen-O'Rourke work. EO point out that the original Great Depression was most severe in America, while this one is more severe in a number of other countries. So you want to do a world comparison -- and if you do, we're actually tracking the first year of the GD quite closely.
