Posted on 01/30/2009 2:48:25 PM PST by Grzegorz 246
Once a hot spot, region could be heading financial crisis similar to Asia's
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Once a booming investment destination, Eastern Europe is now in serious trouble, and some fear it's poised to suffer its own version of Asia's financial crisis.
Within the emerging-markets universe, the region stands out as particularly vulnerable to sharp macroeconomic contraction, further currency depreciation, and even risks of sovereign default. In Eastern Europe's predicament, some observers see clear parallels to what Asian economies experienced in the late 1990s. "You can compare Central and Eastern Europe to Asia in 1997 in the sense of large external imbalances and a funding shock -- a sudden stop to funding," said Lars Christensen, chief analyst at Denmark's Danske Bank.
"That results in either significant weakening of the currency or significant macroeconomic adjustment where domestic demand collapses," Christensen said. The imbalances in so-called emerging Europe are larger than they were in Asia a decade ago, raising the clear risk that the economic and financial adjustment will also be bigger, he said. Some of the hardest-hit countries -- such as Hungary, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Serbia -- have had to resort to loans from the International Monetary Fund.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
That is sad to hear. They already have a very low average yearly salary. Hope that Romania, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and other countries in Eastern Europe don’t suffer too much. I love visiting these countries. They are great folks.
Protests and civil unrest will increase.
Watch the Russians try to take some advantage.
As long as oil prices lag the Russians have their own problems. In addition, the new shale/fracture gas technologies promise to open up huge new gas reserves, possibly in much of Europe; bad news for The Bear.
Global economic turmoil & strife hits Eastern Europe
They are occupied with their own, “Protests and civil unrest will increase.” An excellent opportunity for Vlad to make a move on the Ukraine, I’m sure the One will be shocked!
Yup...they'll go in there to stop them from stealing the gas intended for the EU.
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