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Article: Analysis: Switzerland's cheesy economy.
- Article from:
- United Press International
- Article date:
- April 30, 2003
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SKOPJE, Macedonia, Apr 30, 2003 (United Press International via COMTEX)
Last month, Switzerland's annual rate of inflation dipped to 1.3 percent. Once a cause for celebration, it is now construed to be a worrisome sign of lurking deflation. Growth has been below trend for years now. Demand is ever weakening and capacity is idle. Taxes are high, the national debt soaring.
Interest rates are vanishingly low, having been chopped by half a percentage point in March. But the Swiss franc, impervious to these monetary gambits, is at a five-year high against the dollar. Switzerland depends on exports and tourism -- they constitute more than half its gross ...