Europe - Economic Data & News 01 (May 08 - Oct 08)

[kennynah]

it just gets worse

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Czech July unemployment at 12-year low
8/1/2008 5:28 AM ET

(RTTNews) - The number of unemployed persons in the Czech Republic declined to a 12-year low in the second quarter, due to availability of better job opportunities, a report by the Czech Statistical Office said Friday.

The number of unemployed, based on the International Labor Organization's methodology, declined to 220,100 in the second quarter. Of this, total females unemployed were 117,900. The unemployment rate for the age group 15-64 stood at 4.3%, the lowest since 1996. On the basis of calculation of unemployment by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the rate stood at 5.2%.

[kennynah]

another one bites the dust...

************

530pm +8 GMT 1Aug08

UK Jul PMI at 44.3 down from 45.5 , lowest since Dec 1998

[Dubby]

Spain facing zero growth as economy suffers

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spain's once-booming economy is in worse shape than expected and could slip to zero growth, the finance minister says.

Pedro Solbes, Spain's Finance Minister, says the economic situation is worse than expected.

But the Socialist government -- which has been reluctant to acknowledge hard times in one of Europe's main economic success stories -- does not expect a recession, Finance Minister Pedro Solbes said in an interview with the newspaper El Pais.

For more than a decade, Spain's robust growth made it the envy of much of Europe. But new figures suggest the economy will expand only 1.6 percent this year and 1.0 percent in 2009, compared with 3.8 percent in 2007, Solbes said.

He said the new figures showed the situation was worse than what he believed was the case two months ago when he denied Spain was in an economic crisis.

The conservative opposition has accused the government of playing down Spain's economic woes, including rising inflation and unemployment, especially in the run-up to the March 9 vote in which Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero won re-election.

The Spanish economy began slowing last year as the construction sector cooled due to rising interest rates that curtailed home sales.

Solbes blamed Spain's troubles on both domestic woes and "imported problems" such as soaring oil prices and weak economies in Europe and the United States, according to the newspaper interview.

"For the past two months there have been radically different figures, such as the rise in oil prices or interest rates, that give us the idea that the economic situation is worse than any of us had thought," he was quoted as saying.

He said Spain would experience flat or slow growth over the next few quarters, but not a recession -- provided there are no more "surprises" from oil prices or other variables.

Spanish inflation is running at more than 5 percent a year, a point higher than the euro zone average, but both rates should fall about a point by year's end, Solbes said.

He said he did not expect the European Central Bank would raise interest rates.

[kennynah]

Eurozone June PPI Inflation Slightly Above Expectations
8/4/2008 5:27 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Monday, the Eurostat reported that the Producer Price Index, or PPI for Eurozone increased 8% year-on-year in June, quicker than 7.1% rise recorded in May. The current growth pace is slightly faster than 7.9% increase predicted.

Producer prices for total industry excluding the energy sector increased 4% following 21.4% increase in the energy sector. Expenses for intermediate goods gained 4.8% and that for non-durable consumer goods increased 4.8%. The PPI for durable consumer goods grew 2.3% and that for capital goods rose 2%.

Among member states for which data are available, the statistical office said Denmark recorded the highest increase of 21.7%. Producer prices in the UK increased 19.5% and in Lithuania, it rose 19.4%. On the other hand, the Czech Republic registered the lowest growth of 5.4% followed by Ireland and Slovakia, both recording 6.4% increase.

The PPI rose 0.9% month-on-month in June, slower than 1.2% increase recorded in May, while the consensus forecast was for 0.8% rise.

[kennynah]

Spanish Unemployment Rises In July
8/4/2008 5:08 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Spanish unemployment increased 36,492, or 1.5% in July from the prior month, the Labor Ministry announced Monday. The number of unemployed people totaled 2.43 million. Compared with July 2007, unemployment rose 23.17%.

All sectors reported increase in unemployment. The registered unemployment in construction posted the largest growth of 20,321 or 5.49%. In industry, unemployment moved up 1.63% month-on-month, while the growth in service sector was 0.89%.

[kennynah]

Eurozone August Sentix Investor Confidence Lowest Since July 2003
8/4/2008 5:00 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Monday, latest survey results showed that the Sentix investor confidence dropped to a level of minus 15.3 in August from minus 9.3 in July. Economists were looking for a reading of minus 10 for August. The August reading is the lowest since July 2003, when it was minus 15.

The latest Sentix survey was carried out among more than 2,800 European investors between July 31st and August 2nd.

The decline in the headline index was largely due to a marked deterioration in the current assessment. The current situation index of the survey fell to zero level in August from 11.75 in the previous month. The zero level is the lowest since August 2005. The expectations index dropped to minus 29.5 from minus 28.25.

[millionairemind]

Construction orders drop to a record low
By Angela Monaghan
Last Updated: 2:09pm BST 04/08/2008

Construction orders fell to an all-time low last month, driven by a record decline in housing market activity as the ongoing credit squeeze keeps buyers away, according to a survey today.

The construction sector overall contracted for the fifth month in a row in July to a new low of 36.7 on the Purchasing Managers' Index, compared with 38.8 in June. Any figure below the 50 mark represents a contraction rather than an expansion of activity.

In the housing sector a fall in new orders and workloads, and intense cost pressures, contributed to the fastest rate of job losses in the sector since the survey began more than 11 years ago.

The housing activity index fell to 18.7 in July, its lowest ever level, and new orders for construction work were also down to a new survey low, at 41.
Paul Smith, senior economist at Markit Economics which co-produces the survey with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: "All of the headline numbers were pretty awful, with the effects of rapidly falling activity and new orders having clear and unwanted repercussions on employment. "It is perhaps the severity of the slowdown that is most startling - just under a year ago growth was at its highest for nine-and-a-half years."

Roy Ayliffe, a director at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) which co-produces the study, said the outlook for the industry across the industry was gloomy.

"Housing was again the sick man of the industry, as levels of activity plunged to a record low. That said, poor performance in the commercial and civil engineering sectors couldn't provide any cause for celebration," he said.

Last week a survey by CIPS revealed that the manufacturing sector shrank the most in almost a decade in July.

The survey, combined with today's weak figures from construction, will intensify the dilemma faced by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee when it makes its August interest rate decision on Thursday.

[kennynah]

German Factory Orders Down For 7th Straight Month In June
8/6/2008 6:35 AM ET

(RTTNews) - German factory orders fell for the seventh month in a row in June as demand from overseas decreased notably. ((k : euro so expensive...how not to lose out on exports?)

Wednesday, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said in a report that industrial orders to Eurozone's largest economy fell seasonally adjusted 2.9% month-on-month in June. The decrease was in contrast to a 0.4% increase expected by analysts.

Domestic orders slipped 0.6% month-on-month, while foreign orders recorded a sharp fall of 5.1%.

On an annual basis, factory orders dropped at a faster pace of 6.1%, compared to 4.7% decrease forecasted.

The Ministry said it revised May's monthly decline to 1.4% from 0.9% fall reported earlier. Annual decrease was revised to 2.5% from 2% fall initially said.

[kennynah]

this time around, these brits better start crooning more often their national anthem "God save the queen"...

in other words...better start pai sin shio hngiu

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UK July Job Market Continues To Weaken - REC/KPMG
8/6/2008 6:59 AM ET

(RTTNews) - UK's recruitment consultancies reported a significant fall in permanent placement in July, the latest Report on Jobs prepared by Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG showed Wednesday.

The Report on Jobs based on the data provided by recruitment consultancies gives a comprehensive guide to the UK labor market.

According to the report, the rate of contraction in permanent placement was the sharpest in seventy-nine months, reflecting a further reduction in demand for permanent staff. Meanwhile, temporary appointments rose in July, the growth rate slowed to only a marginal pace that was the slowest in more than five years. At the same time, the upward trend in staff availability continued in July.

Increase in supply of permanent and temporary staff coupled with weakening staff demand led to a moderation in pay inflation to five-year lows.

Alan Nolan, Director at KPMG stated, "This is yet another worrying set of statistics, confirming that the financial crisis continues to deepen. Particularly concerning is the construction sector, which usually shows a strong requirement for temporary labor."

[millionairemind]

So even without USD strengthening.. by virtue of weakening of EUR and GBP.. the USD magically strengthens...