Apartment prices in Riga have dropped an unprecedented 50 percent, according to a report by the Global Property Guide. This plunge is now the deepest in the world in the first quarter of the year as the country’s economy slipped into one of the deepest recessions in the European Union.
“Latvia is in surprisingly deep trouble,” said the Global Property Guide report. “Average apartment prices in Riga declined an astonishing 50 percent over a year earlier to 747 euros per square meter!”
Still cheaper than an apartment in Paris but at least in Paris you pay the view; you can see the Eifel tower!
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9.2 percent budget deficit
Latvia’s government has agreed to make amendments to the 2009 budget that will increase the deficit to 9.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission both saying no to a deficit of 7 percent.
The newly agreed upon amendments are based on a forecast of GDP dropping 18 percent this year. Latvia’s standby agreement with the IMF originally targeted a 4.9 percent budget deficit and it is still unclear whether the international crisis will help or force for more deficits.
Blame it in the international crisis and not in the insufficiency of the government!
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Latvian airlines in euros
Latvian airlines have begun setting ticket prices in euros. As of June 1, the automatic reservation system websites of Amadeus, Galileo and WorldSpan will list Latvian airline tickets in euros. The decision was made by all airlines that sell tickets in Latvia and who are also a part of the International Air Transportation Association.
This association includes airBaltic and is preparing to set its prices in euros as well, while still accepting payment in lats. President and CEO of airBaltic, Bertolt Flick said that "the move will not have much of an effect at all on our passengers, provided that the lat remains stable. AirBaltic will continue to accept lats as payments for tickets."
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