It seems that Latvia is having a tough time. The former Soviet country had been leading European countries in its growth the last few years, but has been badly hit by the economic fears and now has a rapidly shrinking GDP. Apparently, the government refuses to float the Latvians currency but instead pegs it to the Euro – to attract foreigners – however this is now hindering the economy. Housing prices have dropped, and according to the article even beer costs five or six pounds a pint. Latvia has the highest inflation rate in Europe. Latvia was unfortunate enough to be coming off a boom period at the exact same time the global economy was running into trouble.
I draw your attention to the end of the article which is somewhat ominous – people have been arrested for publicly casting doubt on the economy.
I offer no opinions on Latvia, as I know so little about the country, but I do find it interesting to see how that country tucked away in the corner of Europe is fareing: not well.
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
[...] the past I spoke of how Latvia,which had previously been a leader in economic growth, was in a bit of slump. In a followup to the situation, I was unfortunately not surprised when I learned that their [...]