Belgian economic growth gradually softens, but rising purchasing power supports household consumption
(WorldNews Belgium)

International environment In recent years world growth has been rather erratic, falling well short of expectations. In the advanced countries, however, growth clearly picked up from the spring, but that was due mainly to specific developments in certain countries, such as the expansionary fiscal policy in the United States. Nonetheless, it seems that thereafter the world economy has again lost some momentum, and the confidence and short-term indicators do currently not imply a strong recovery in the months ahead. World trade has declined steeply since the beginning of the year, against the backdrop of increasing trade barriers. Owing to the resulting uncertainty and the global...