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Monday, January 02, 2012

According to chief economist at the Rabobank, Willlem Boonstra, the eurozone will overcome the debt crisis in 2012. In an interview with Reuters, Boonstra suggests that in the most likely scenario the Eurozone will remain together. Boonstra also notes that despite the debt crisis in Europe, the European Union still has the lowest budget deficit in comparison with other countries such as Japan and the United States. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, predicts a more difficult year in 2012. In her New Year's speech, Merkel called for more cooperation in Europe to overcome the ongoing debt crisis. Merkel says she will do anything to solve the debt crisis and strengthen the Euro but to do this Europe will have to learn from its mistakes. Other European leaders also predict a difficult year for the Eurozone in 2012. French President Sarkozy announced that the European debt crisis is not over yet and the Italian prime minister, Mario Monti, expects that this year even more sacrifices will be made.

According to pension adviser Mercer, the average funding ratio of pension funds decreased last year from 97% to 95%. This decrease is partly caused by a further decline in interest rates by 0,3%. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) reported last month that the average funding ratio of pension funds in November rose to 97%. If the coverage ratio of pension funds is less than 105%, there is a coverage shortage in the funds.

According to the German Office for Statistics, employment in Germany rose last year by more than 1%. As a result, there were on average 41,04 million Germans working last year. This is a record in German history. German exports increased last year by 12% to a value of EUR 1.075 billion. This year, an export growth of 6% is expected to a value of EUR 1.139 billion. According to the trade association of German Exporters (BGA), the export growth of the past year and the expected growth of this year is the result of the continuing strong demand from emerging economies.

The 6M Euribor decreased by 1 basis point to 1,36%. The 10Y Swap increased by 2 basis points to 2,40%.

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