The International Monetary Fund expects Hungary's economy to recover only slowly from a recession next year but it sees the country's current account deficit dropping sharply, an IMF staff report showed on Monday.
The IMF expects the economy to contract by 1 percent next year and grow by only 0.6 percent in 2010, the text of the report, linked to Hungary's request for a standby loan last month, said. The report was published on the IMF's website on Monday.
Forbes.com,
Monday, November 17
Hungary's gross wage growth accelerated in September, data showed on Tuesday, but analysts said this was unlikely to influence monetary policy as the central bank is focusing on financial stability.
"Amid 'normal' market conditions the acceleration (in wage growth) could be a worrying sign, but amid the current situation in terms of monetary policy the release is neutral," said analyst Mariann Trippon at CIB Bank.
"After the 300 bps emergency rate hike in October, the central bank is focusing more on market developments, and will decide on the base rate accordingly," she said.
The Guardian,
Tuesday, November 18.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Hungarian radical groups of exporting fascism to his country after a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart on Saturday intended to promote reconciliation.
Fico and Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány met in the border town of Komarno in an attempt to resolve differences over the large ethnic Hungarian minority in Slovakia and what Slovaks call provocations by far-right Hungarian groups.
Despite delivering a joint statement in which they pledged to take action against all kinds of extremism, nationalism and intolerance and promote "good neighbourly relations," the two politicians crossed swords in front of the media.
"The biggest problem for the Slovak government is the export of fascism and nationalism from Hungary," Fico told a news conference in Komarno.
Reuters,
Saturday, November 15
The Hungarian economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter, a month after the country agreed to an International Monetary Fund package that will limit its ability to lift its economy, while a senior Romanian official rejected suggestions that it might be forced to turn to the IMF for a similar bailout.
In Hungary, the euro-zone slowdown is already being felt. The statistics office reported Friday that GDP fell 0.1% from the second quarter. Annual economic growth also slowed unexpectedly, to 0.8% from the same quarter of 2007.
The Wall Street Journal,
Sunday, November 16
19.11.2008