Global Crisis Hits Nordic Economies Hard

Global crisis hits Swedish economy hard

Sweden is in the middle of a much more serious recession than previously thought, according to official figures for the fourth quarter of last year that revealed the economy contracted by nearly 10 per cent on an annualised basis...

...“Today’s national accounts confirmed the Swedish economy is falling off a cliff,” said Nicola Mai, economist at JP Morgan, in a research note. “The report confirms Sweden is in the midst of a very deep recession.”

The economic news from Nordic economies was not much better.

Danish gross domestic product fell 2 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous period, marking the severest recession since the 1970s. Swedish GDP shrank 2.4 percent in the period, the most in 18 years, and Finnish output slumped 1.3 percent, the most in 17 years, national statistics offices said.

February 27, 2009

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