RUSSIAN INFLATION CLIMBS AGAIN.(Brief Article)
Russian consumers are having increasing problems with rising
inflation. According to a February 7, 2005 story in Kommersant (Moscow),
inflation increased a "surprisingly large" 2.6 percent . . .
FRENCH CONSUMERS SPEND, ECONOMY GROWS.(2004)(Brief
Article)
French consumers spent liberally on cars and a range of other items
during the final quarter of 2004, according to Insee, the French
national statistics office. The surge in spending was the basis . . .
SPORTS AND FITNESS GROWS IN EUROPE.
During 2004, Europeans were exposed to events and programs that had
a positive effect on their participation in, and attitudes toward,
sports and fitness. This is one of the major conclusions of a . . .
CONSUMER SPENDING STALLS IN THE UK.
One doesn't need anything but the basic picture to see what is
happening to consumer spending in the United Kingdom. The comparison in
levels of retail sales (in blue) and household sales (in red) . . .
VEILED CONSUMER STRENGTH IN PORTUGAL.
Portugal had a dismal year in 2003. The economy shrank 1.3 percent,
and, according to a recent report by Agence Presse-France (APF) that was
the worst performance of any country in the European . . .
GERMAN CONSUMER DEMAND ON HOLD.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported official
statistics in mid-January 2005 showing that during 2004 the German
economy grew at its fastest pace in four years. GDP expanded at . . .
LATVIA TO ADOPT THE EURO.
Latvia is Europe's fastest growing economy. Official
statistics released at the end of January revealed that the economy grew
8.5 percent during 2004. In fact, Latvia's progress has been . . .
ITALIANS EXPRESS FRUSTRATION.
According to a recent bulletin from AFX, the financial wire of
Agence France-Presse, average hourly wages in Italy grew 0.7 percent in
December 2004 compared with November 2004. Compared with . . .
LOW SAVINGS RATES IN GREECE.(Brief Article)
Twice a year, The Wall Street Journal and the GfK Custom Research
Group do a worldwide survey on investment preferences, and the most
recent one shows that only 12 percent of Greeks have enough . . .
GLOOM AMONG FRENCH CONSUMERS.(Brief Article)
At the end of 2004, French consumers were not feeling good enough
about the economy to spend in any significant way. This was the
conclusion of a Bloomberg News survey of economists reported by the . . .
BRITIAN'S COMPLEX ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE MARKET.
In mid-December 2004, the United Kingdom's (U. K.) Office for
National Statistics released it's General Household Survey. Among
its findings were: Between 1998 and 2003 the survey period was 2002 . . .
SWEDISH ECONOMY SET TO GROW IN 2005, 2006.
Sweden's economy is growing and Swedish consumers are
benefiting from low inflation and low interest rates. In late December
2004, Sweden's Ricksbank (RB) using its own data and other . . .
POLAND HEADED FOR THE EURO ZONE.
Poland joined the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004, and will soon
join the 12 European nations who have replaced their national currencies
with the Euro, the so-called Euro Zone countries. The . . .
FRANCE STIMULATES CONSUMER SPENDING.
In late December 2004, Bloomberg reported that spending by French
households rose 1.5 percent in November compared to the previous month.
Compared to November 2003 the increase was 6.5 percent. . . .
PESSIMISM ABOUT ITALY'S FUTURE GROWS.(Brief Article)
Italy has fallen behind its European Union (EU) partners in GDP
growth, and shows few signs of being able to catch up. Italy is the
third largest country among the 12 EU nations who have adopted . . .
INTERNET USAGE IN CROATIA.(Brief Article)
Just over 36 percent of the population of Croatia over the age of
15 uses the Internet at least once a month. This amounts to 1.2-million
people. The conclusion is drawn from a survey conducted by . . .
CZECH RETAIL SALES ON UPWARD TREND.(services of Czech Statistical
Office )(Brief Article)
Toward the end of December, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU)
reported that October retail sales gained 1.7 percent year-on-year, one
percent higher than the same year-on-year comparison the month . . .
U. K. HOUSING MARKET HEADS FOR SLUMP.(Brief Article)
Reporting from London, Reuters said at the end of December that
house prices fell for six months in a row. Reuters sourced Hometrack, a
research company, adding that the boom in the U. K. housing . . .
EUROPE BEGINNING TO EMBRACE THE SMART HOME.(automated home of the
future)(TekPlus)(Small Office Home Office )
Just outside Barcelona on a upscale residential street there's
a house that anyone who invites a few hundred intimate friends over for
a party and has to get up to clean the next morning perhaps . . .
HELP IS ON THE WAY FOR CONSUMER SPENDING IN GERMANY.
A December 27, 2004 item on the Bloomberg wire quoted a German
retailing association as predicting that when the final results were in
retail sales for the holiday period will have increased from . . .
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