Business cycle

The pandemic aid for business envisioned by the government will last far enough to keep intact a minimum number of jobs, according to financier Emil Harsev. He told bTV that the Bulgarian economy was doing relatively well although the forecasts were quite gloomy.

Harsev gave an example of the extractive and processing industries in Bulgaria, which are less affected than expected.

The large-scale shutdown in many economic sectors, in an effort to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the sharp compression of consumer demand, along with the decline in foreign demand, make a severe contraction of the Romanian economy in Q2 very likely, read the minutes of the Central Bank's Board monetary policy meeting published on Friday.

London (CNN) - Is the damage caused by the lockdown worse than the virus itself? That's a question raised by some world leaders and commentators who claim that economic and social hardship caused by strict coronavirus restrictions places a heavier burden on society than the death rate caused by the disease.

Greece will have to restructure its production model after the coronavirus crisis has eased so that it does not depend on tourism and small and medium-sized enterprises to such a great extent, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) argues in its monthly bulletin.

It adds that, in that regard, the government ought to proceed with reforms and reduce energy and non-salary costs.

Greece will face an inevitable recession, a rise in unemployment, a blow to tourism and the deterioration of its property market due to the shock from the Covid-19 pandemic, with the debt-to-gross domestic product ratio rising, according to Wood Financial Group, but it is expected to fare much better than most other countries and emerge from the crisis with low borrowing costs.

Against the dramatic forecasts for fiscal figures to slump to levels reminiscent of the worst years of the debt crisis, there is also optimism within the government that things will actually turn out to be rather better.

The recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will lead to an increase in bad loans through the rise in unemployment, according to the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE).

The Greek office market appears shielded against the upcoming recession, at least as far as modern office buildings are concerned, as demand for them is expected to remain high due to their scarcity.

Policy makers across the world are moving quickly to provide financial support to their economies, which are, in all likelihood, in deep recession. Given the unprecedented economic uncertainty associated with Covid-19, the depth and breadth of the downturn is hard to quantify. However, the global economic recession is unlikely to be short-lived.

Foreign analysts appear more pessimistic than the Bank of Greece's baseline scenario for 0 percent growth this year due to the coronavirus epidemic, saying a recession appears inevitable, especially in the first half of the year, mainly due to tourism.