Baltic States
VIENNEAST COMPASS: Risk outlook 2020 – balancing in limbo
CEESE had a good year in 2019, with the economies in the region buoyed by increasing domestic consumption and capital spending that allowed the region to decouple from western Europe.
OUTLOOK 2020 Lithuania
Lithuania enjoyed robust growth in 2019 but this is forecast to decline in 2020 given the deteriorating external environment.
CAPITAL ECONOMICS: CEE growth comes off the boil in 2019, but loose money and strong demand will bolster growth in 2020
The European Commission’s batch of Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) fell sharply in December, although they remain consistent with regional GDP growth holding steady at around 3.6% y/y in Q4. Robust domestic demand should help to cushion the blow
OUTLOOK 2020 Latvia
Prime Minister Krisjans Karins, who heads a fractious five-party coalition, has pledged to put cleaning up Latvia’s financial sector at the top of his priority list.
OUTLOOK 2020 Estonia
A slowdown is looming for Estonia’s small, open economy in 2020, a year during which Tallinn will also have to restore trust in a banking sector tarnished by allegations of massive money laundering.
Latvian retail sales return to growth in November
The November gain ends a short two-month streak during which retail turnover fell in Latvia after 45 months of uninterrupted growth. The weaker performance is in line with forecasts of a slowdown in economic growth in 2019.