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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique