Eurozone credit crisis ‘far from over’

While the systemic financial crisis in the Eurozone is receding, the credit crisis affecting European companies is far from over, according to credit insurer Coface which predicts that the Eurozone will remain in recession in 2013. “Sluggish domestic demand is unlikely to be offset by exports,” a spokesman said. “The outlook is more favourable in the US and in Japan. But concerns are still lingering on the policy-makers’ ability to reduce the fiscal deficit in the US and in Japan, on the evolution of exports to China. “The outlook is far more encouraging in emerging countries. They proved resilient in 2012 with growth expected to reach 4.8%. According to Coface’s forecast, it is likely to accelerate to over 5% in 2013, thanks to the dynamism of domestic demand and the implementation of reactive and prudent economic policies. However, these good figures should not mask vulnerabilities.”