The US home loan crisis could damage German growth by pushing up the euro and crimping exports from the biggest eurozone economy, German Economy Minister Michael Glos warned in an interview yesterday.
"No one knows what the effects of the American financial crisis on Germany will be in the end," Glos told the mass circulation newspaper Bild.
"The dollar's weak level against the euro and high oil price could slow our growth, which has been strong until now," he said.
"If the dollar continues to fall, it will hamper our export perspectives," he said.
Germany's economy relies to a large extent on exports, while consumption represents a much smaller pillar of growth compared with countries like the US.
It was not the first time that Glos voiced concern over the banking system crisis that followed the collapse of the US market for high-risk home loans, known also as the subprime market.
On Friday, he had warned that "complacency was not an option" given the shock that the US crisis dealt to international financial markets.
The government has forecast that the German economy would expand by 2.3 percent this year, while analysts at Commerzbank estimate it could reach 2.5 percent before falling back to 1.8 percent next year.
In the UK, Northern Rock customers finally appeared confident that they could leave their savings with the crisis-hit lender, with few, if any, expected to queue outside branches yesterday.
Government pledges to protect the savings of the bank's account-holders quelled the panic triggered by news that Northern Rock asked the Bank of England, Britain's central bank, for an emergency loan on Friday.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS