Hungary
Hungary slaps banks, retailers with special tax to finance coronavirus fight and recovery
PM Viktor Orban is expected to announce a broader economic stimulus early this week that could amount to as much as HUF10 trillion.
Central Europe’s retail boom comes crashing to an end
Years of consumption-fuelled growth have left Central European states with large retail sectors that are now facing a coronavirus-related slump. It’s set to get even worse once the initial urge to stockpile wears off.
ING: Negative growth for Central and Eastern Europe with more easing ahead
All CEE countries should experience negative growth in 2020, with 2Q20 constituting the bottom.
Hungary under fire over legislation that gives sweeping powers to government
Hungarian MPs approved legislation to allow the government to extend the state of emergency without a time limit and grant power to the government to rule by decree as long as the state of emergency is in place.
Balkans have some of the world’s strictest anti-coronavirus measures
Oxford University researchers look at the steps taken to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Hungarian parliament passes controversial legislation granting unlimited power to government
Opposition parties objected to the lack of a sunset clause and raised fears that the government would undermine freedom of speech and press freedom under the guise of actions against the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE MITTELEUROPEAN VIEW: Why it is exactly the right time to fully revive the Vienna Initiative 1.0
For the banking sectors in CEE, hypothetical stress scenarios are becoming reality. A forum like the Vienna Initiative could be an ideal place to find coherent solutions during the current crisis.
Hungary announces two-week curfew to stem the spread of coronavirus
Hungarians are only allowed to leave their homes to go to work or to run essential errands, PM Viktor Orban announces, as virus reaches the community transmission stage.
Hungary's media authority awards 5G licenses for €350mn
The auction, which took place amid extraordinary safety measures, allocated concessions that will run until 2035 and can be expanded by another five years with unchanged conditions.
Doubts cast over Hungarian central bank's bullish economic forecasts
The Hungarian National Bank projects a growth slowdown, but still expects Hungary to perform better than eurozone countries. Most analysts take a gloomier view and forecast a recession.
CEE hotel deals put on hold amid coronavirus pandemic
After a vintage 2019, almost €2bn worth of deals were expected to close in the hotel sectors of six Central and Southeast European countries this year, but these are looking increasingly unlikely to complete, says a report from law firm CMS.
IIF forecasts a contraction of -1.4% in CEE, -1.3% in Russia, but Turkish growth remains in the black in 2020
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) released updated forecasts for economic growth this year for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries that show a sharp slowdown in 2020 and all except Turkey will return negative results.
Is the pace of outflows from EMs starting to slow?
Equity and bond markets have been rocked by record volumes of outflows since the end of February in one of the biggest sell offs ever, but the pace of selling seems to be slowing in the last few days, said the Institute of International Finance (IIF)
Capital Economics slashes CEE growth forecasts for 2020 to -2% y/y
Economic consultancy Capital Economics has slashed its growth forecast for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to a 2% y/y contractions from the previous 2.3% expansion in 2020, as a result of the coronavirus.
Economic think tank sees Hungarian economy plunging 20% in Q2
Economy to be dragged down by to the almost complete shutdown in the service sector and suspension of production in the vehicle industry, says a forecast by GKI.
Wizz Air operating at 15% capacity
Grounding the entire fleet remains a distinct possibility, but CEE's biggest low cost carrier says it is confident it can survive even a prolonged grounding.
Citizens fear unscrupulous leaders will take advantage of lockdowns
Restricting social interaction is a vital part of the efforts to delay the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but in some countries people fear politicians will use the opportunity for their own ends.
Hungarian government submits bill to extend state of emergency
Despite a recent hike in coronavirus cases, the bill is not supported by opposition parties that voiced concern about granting the cabinet special powers for an indefinite length of time.
Coronavirus crisis to widen rich/poor gap within Central and Eastern Europe
Convergence to be reversed as the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is set to be deeper and longer in the CIS, Ukraine, Turkey and the Western Balkans than in the EU member states of Central and Southeast Europe.
THE MITTELEUROPEAN VIEW: Looking for LUV — what shape will Europe’s recovery from this existential crisis be?
There is a new acronym in the economists' lexicon: VUCA. It is short for “Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous” as pundits are struggling to explain a crisis that is coming at us from all sides simultaneously.