Europe

Germany’s economy is likely to gather pace as several of the causes behind its recent weakness prove short-lived, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, Bloomberg News reported. Some of the factors holding back growth — which include elevated inflation, reluctant consumers and high interest rates — will probably only be “temporary,” Nagel said Tuesday in a speech, while acknowledging some longer-term structural problems that must be addressed.
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Sweden’s central bank cut its key interest rate for the third time this year and said borrowing costs will likely be lowered again soon as a faltering economy threatens to push inflation further below its target, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Riksbank cut its key rate to 3.25% from 3.5%, in line with a poll of economists conducted by The Wall Street Journal ahead of the decision. “If the outlook for inflation and economic activity remains unchanged, the policy rate may also be cut at the two remaining monetary policy meetings this year,” the Riksbank said.
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Europe’s real estate firms have raised $5.6 billion this year via equity offerings as landlords gear up to bolster their finances, Bloomberg News reported. The proceeds from initial public offerings and share sales in listed companies exceed the amount for the same period in 2023 more than three times, according to Bloomberg calculations. In the latest deal, beleaguered Swedish landlord SBB is offering 49% of the shares in its residential unit Sveafastigheter AB.
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The eurozone economy slowed sharply as the third quarter draws to a close, contrasting still-dynamic growth in the U.S., according to a series of business surveys released on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The eurozone surveys suggest that a soft landing from the surge in inflation that accompanied Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine could be in doubt.
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Germany's leading economic institutes have downgraded their forecast for 2024 and now see Europe's largest economy shrinking by 0.1%, people familiar with the figures from the autumn joint economic forecast told Reuters on Tuesday. Germany's economy was the weakest among its large euro zone peers last year with a 0.3% contraction. Inflation was expected to fall to 2.2% this year, from 5.9% last year, the sources said. It would be around the 2% mark targeted by the European Central Bank in the two following years, according to the sources.
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