Baltic States
Lithuanian retail sales ease growth rate to 3.7% y/y in December
Sales thus decelerated their growth rate in comparison to the 4.5% annual expansion in the eleventh month. Retail sales have been on an uninterrupted growth track since 2015.
Estonia’s Fermi Energia signs MoU on developing first nuclear reactor
Fermi Energia is looking to develop Estonia's first source of nuclear energy in the 2030s, but environmental groups say it would pose “significant risks” to the environment and be economically unfeasible.
IIF Green Weekly Insight: The Roaring Twenties
Global demand for electricity is projected to surge over 20% this decade. Power generation accounts for 40% of emissions and Emerging markets, notably China and India, will account for over 85% of rising demand in the next ten years.
Eastern EU members “failing to address corruption effectively”, finds Transparency International
Many of the newer EU member states saw their scores deteriorate on the latest Corruption Perceptions Index amid growing state capture and efforts by governments to undermine judicial independence.
Slovenia ranks first in emerging Europe in social mobility
Most economies are failing to provide the conditions in which their citizens can thrive, said the World Economic Forum on releasing its new social mobility index.
Estonian PPI deflation deepens in December
The headline figure also sees the PPI inflation rate below zero for the fifth consecutive month after an uninterrupted growth period of nearly three years.
VIENNEAST COMPASS: Risk outlook 2020 – balancing in limbo
CEESE had a good year in 2019, with the economies in the region buoyed by increasing domestic consumption and capital spending that allowed the region to decouple from western Europe.
OUTLOOK 2020 Lithuania
Lithuania enjoyed robust growth in 2019 but this is forecast to decline in 2020 given the deteriorating external environment.
CAPITAL ECONOMICS: CEE growth comes off the boil in 2019, but loose money and strong demand will bolster growth in 2020
The European Commission’s batch of Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) fell sharply in December, although they remain consistent with regional GDP growth holding steady at around 3.6% y/y in Q4. Robust domestic demand should help to cushion the blow
OUTLOOK 2020 Latvia
Prime Minister Krisjans Karins, who heads a fractious five-party coalition, has pledged to put cleaning up Latvia’s financial sector at the top of his priority list.
OUTLOOK 2020 Estonia
A slowdown is looming for Estonia’s small, open economy in 2020, a year during which Tallinn will also have to restore trust in a banking sector tarnished by allegations of massive money laundering.
Latvian retail sales return to growth in November
The November gain ends a short two-month streak during which retail turnover fell in Latvia after 45 months of uninterrupted growth. The weaker performance is in line with forecasts of a slowdown in economic growth in 2019.