The German government on Saturday downplayed as only “speculation” a report in a German weekly that Europe’s biggest economy would slash its growth forecast for next year to 0.5 percent from the previous 1.2 percent estimate.
“There is not yet an official forecast. It is only speculation,” an economy ministry spokesman said in commenting on a Der Spiegel report, which cited ministry experts.
The government will publish its next economic forecasts on Oct. 16.
WEAKER
Meanwhile, European Central Bank chief economist Juergen Stark said that Germany would go through “a period of weaker economic growth, the duration of which will depend on the extent of the repercussions from the [financial] shockwave coming from the United States,” he said in an interview to appear in yesterday’s newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Stark said, however, that he did not see “any potential for a recession,” either in Germany or in the global economy, nor any signs of deflation in the eurozone.
‘DIFFICULT’
Last month, German Economy Minister Michael Glos said he could not rule out revising down the economic growth forecast for next year, given the current “difficult” situation, as Germans said they were more pessimistic about the health of their economy.
OPTIMISM
Nevertheless, on Friday the government maintained its estimate of 1.7 percent economic growth this year, despite the doubts of many economists who point to a slowdown in exports and higher inflation.
The head of the German Industrial Federation, Juergen Thuman, said in an interview with the Rheinpfalz am Sonntag that for the moment the financial crisis had not caused any serious problems for the German economy.
But he warned that this could change.
“Germany is strong … I continue to think that it is possible to achieve economic growth of two to three percent this year,” he told the Bild am Sonntag.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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