Economic Pain in the EU

In a recent report, EU officials say that Europe’s economy will shrink by 4% in 2009 and stabilize in 2010. The Irish economy is predicted to shrink at twice this rate in 2009 and possibly at a rate of 2.5% in 2010!
The two economies worst affected, in the EU, are likely to be Ireland and Spain both of which experienced unsustainable construction driven booms.
Average unemployment this year is likely to be about 10% in the EU while unemployment for both Ireland and Spain is likely to reach a peak of up to 16% by 2010.
Before it levels off, the Irish budget deficit is likely to peak at 15% of GDP and the country’s debt could potentially reach 80% of GDP by 2010: an increase of a factor of three in two years!

Moral: It would appear that the most ‘target rich’ environments for investors in the EU, just now, are likely to be Ireland and Spain with the latter, particularly Tenerife, having a unique climatic advantage!!

Gerrygalvin1@gmail.com

Pandemic

Once again the 'experts' have thrown the world into a panic with their terrifying, uninformed, prognostications. On May 2, 2009 there is no data to support these scare mongerers. From many governments viewpoints this topic provides a welcome respite from economic doom and gloom.
However, there is a lesson to be learned from this. The lesson is that we must revert to traditional sanitary and hygiene measures and careful crop, animal and fowl management. Over intensive production of either crop or animal inevitably leads to promlems as indeed do all man generated activities in conflict with the natural order.
From an investment point of view there is a warning not to put your toe into undeveloped waters i,e. not to invest in locations with a poor infrastructure particularly with a poor or non existent sanitary system.
Ciao
gerrygalvin1@gmail.com