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Michael Probst/AP

Brussels paints bleak picture for European economic recovery

The European Commission’s new review lowers its expectation of economic growth, which will be flat in the third quarter.

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has lowered its expectation for the growth of the European economy – saying the crisis on the world’s financial markets is taking its toll on Europe’s recovery.

The Commission believes economic output in the union will now be just 0.2 per cent for each of the next two quarters – with growth at just 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter in the Eurozone.

While both the Union and the Eurozone will both meet their annual growth targets, their growth will largely have come in the first quarter, with the economy grinding almost totally to a halt towards the end of the year.

Unsurprisingly, Germany will be the engine for the growth – with its economy expected to grow by 2.9 per cent this year by Brussels’ expectations. There was no hard data for Ireland in the report.

Separately this afternoon, the ECB said it was going to step up efforts to lend dollars to banks in the euro area, in three separate three-month loans to ensure they had enough US cash to get through the rest of the year.

The move – which comes in coordination with moves from the central banks of England, Japan and Switzerland – comes as a sign that some banks are now struggling to gain access to dollars on the regular money markets, as US investors grow more fearful of Europe’s banking sector.

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7 Comments
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    Mute LITTLEONE
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:42 PM

    N never
    A a
    M meaningful
    A answer.

    140
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    Mute Gary Smith
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:50 PM

    Good to see NAMA being investigated but it’s hard to take Alan Kelly serious when he starts on about PR disasters!!

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    Mute LITTLEONE
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:03 PM

    @Gary Smith: agree with you on that.

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    Mute Billy Mooney
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:03 PM

    It’s laughable to hear FF whinging about NAMA’s conduct when it was they who established the entity as an another opaque mechanism to bailout the delinquent banks and developers. Under the blueshirts and Labour of course, NAMA expanded it’s remit to enable the looting of the nation by international vulture funds with a vast firesale of land and property assets at knockdown prices while a domestic homeless epidemic rages . It’s a feeding frenzy for the speculative sharks and the blood in the water as ever is that of the working class

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    Mute Christy Nolan
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:06 PM

    @Gary Smith:
    It’s hard to take Tds complaining about unanswered questions from a quango set up by themselves and stuffed with their own cronies.

    121
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    Mute Brendan McGill
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:10 PM

    Definitely Gary, but in fairness to him Alan Kelly knows all about PR Disasters!

    78
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    Mute Alan Cooke
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    Oct 18th 2016, 6:09 PM

    @Billy Mooney:
    Wally, Where do you copy and paste this rubbish from?

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    Mute Billy Mooney
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    Oct 18th 2016, 6:19 PM

    Which part could you not understand Alan?

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    Mute Rory
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    Oct 18th 2016, 8:20 PM

    Should only AAA be allowed to whinge now, it’s everybody’s right to whinge, don’t be greedy

    4
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    Mute neuromancer
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:46 PM

    Sack all the NAMA directors. They think they are above the PAC, and still not giving requested materials after weeks. You would swear they were a private company.

    119
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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:59 PM

    It was a bit rich watching Alan Kelly asking these boys questions when for 5years he stood by while people were made homeless. Hypocrisy in motion was what I was watching.

    89
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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:44 PM

    Wasn’t Alan Kelly the cause of rent increases at one stage?…

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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:44 PM

    Too busy covering their collective arses now

    45
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    Mute Tim Nelligan
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    Oct 18th 2016, 11:21 PM

    NAMA is 51% privately owned by a SPV, to circumvent EU competition legislation.

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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:39 PM

    NAMA was a terrible idea from the get-go. Secretive almost shadowy dealings with little or no transparency in the early stages. Selling at huge discounts to vulture funds instead of managing the properties and selling for market value. I can understand bulk selling at a small discount but not for the prices they settled on. Since 2008 Ireland and her people have been put through the wringer. We’ve been forced to take on debt that wasn’t ours (yes some eejits out there never had subprime mortgages but paid out their arses for those that did and defaulted). Then to have our assets stripped off and “sold” for such discounts was crazy. Banks in court every week looking to evict people so that they can sell off properties and cut their losses bringing down their loan books while other entities collect properties like they’re going out of fashion and holding them while stimulating a housing crisis while pushing up rents (oh hello greed, thought we forgot about you since Celtic Tiger 1.0) and now drop feeding the market at extraordinary price increases (again, anyone remember the bubble?)

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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:41 PM

    *drip feeding.

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    Mute Martin Sinnott
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:01 PM

    NAMA was set up to lose money but bring in cash.

    85
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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:43 PM

    While lining a few pockets too (hint, hint, not ours)

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    Mute D H
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    Oct 18th 2016, 6:56 PM

    But sure it was only taxpayer money , that doesnt matter…..its not like it was a hedge fund managers money or anyone important like that

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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 7:08 PM

    Thank a God, don’t know how I’d sleep at night otherwise

    21
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    Mute John Clarke
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    Oct 18th 2016, 8:41 PM

    Their arrogance was truly breath taking.

    32
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    Mute Sean
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:44 PM

    PR doesn’t matter to these clowns and their masters. They couldn’t care less what we think about them. They know they’ll get away with everything they want.

    84
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    Mute For Connolly
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:47 PM

    Some serious contributions made today, not least by McDonald and Cullinane. They forced the NAMA board to withdraw their ‘unsubstantiated’ remark about the C&AG, and caught them on the hop asserting Pimco acted in a way which made no sense.

    (I can’t say more, you have to watch for yourself!)

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    Mute For Connolly
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:52 PM
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    Mute For Connolly
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    Oct 18th 2016, 3:52 PM

    The whole vid is worth a watch, but the exchange @ 15:00 lays it bare.

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    Mute Mary Murphy
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:22 PM

    Alan Kelly has no right to ask questions now. Where was he when a minister?

    56
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    Mute Spiderman
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:42 PM

    Enjoying the power like a druggie methinks

    49
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    Mute Gerry Ryan deG
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:43 PM

    @Mary Murphy: Delivering the Labour party political agenda which was so far to the right that they got what was coming to them. Pretending to be a left leaning party while hammering the most vulnerable and ramming through a FG policy on water got it’s just reward.

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    Mute Tony O Dwyer
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    Oct 18th 2016, 4:49 PM

    That`s actually interesting and engaging to watch
    I only did so because I know one of the board members but despite that the process was interesting to watch
    Alan Kelly while asking some tough questions gave the board a get out of jail card
    And in essence all they had to say was yes , rather than expose ourselves to the 4 uncertainties we opted for the quick sale
    I did not to be fair to either party see any tetchy exchanges as reported by The Journal. It seemed very professionally done
    I wouldn`t like Willie Soffe in my corner when trying to argue a case , he was clearly a babbler

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    Mute Colm Buckley
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    Oct 18th 2016, 9:26 PM

    The biggest con job ever foisted in the Irish people. When its ever revealed who was was employed by NAMA, their connections and the advisors they used, it will be shown for what it is……a con job.

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    Mute Mick Mccomiskey
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    Oct 18th 2016, 7:31 PM

    Nama itself has been setup to take the blame for FG/Liebour’s shortcomings’ while the real culprits (the banks) walk away with Billions.

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    Mute Jonathan Beatty
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    Oct 18th 2016, 10:56 PM

    “The three directors all gave different opinions on whether Brexit was a factor in the accelerated sale of Project Eagle” I’m picturing them meeting in a strip club jax about 2 years ago, when one says ‘ah sure we can just say it was down to the auld Brexit thing if anyone says anything’ Id say heads nodded in so much agreement that one of them hit his head and fell into the jax pot.

    2
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