Eastern Europe is battered by the financial and economic crisis

"Stockmarkets plummet in eastern Europe, as the economic troubles spreadHopes that eastern Europe would prove relatively immune to the global financial turmoil have evaporated as the financial crisis is turning into an economic crisis in the developed world. Stockmarkets have been plummeting throughout the region and several currencies have come under pressure. There are clear signs that the global credit crunch has finally started to bite, with access to external finance becoming much more difficult, as well as expensive. Hungary and Ukraine have turned to the IMF and European Central Bank (ECB) for support, and others may follow. As a result, regional growth in 2009 is set to slow sharply.For almost a year following the onset of financial turmoil in July 2007, ignited by the subprime crisis in the US, eastern Europe felt few effects. Growth held up extremely well, with the exceptions of Estonia and Latvia, which fell into recession some time ago after their home-made financial bubbles burst. High commodity prices continued to drive growth in much of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). For most of the rest of eastern Europe, weakness in west European demand was offset by rising intra-regional trade and buoyant domestic demand. That has all changed in recent months, and eastern Europe is now among those emerging market regions that look to be hit the worst by the intensifying global financial instability and ensuing economic slowdown. The resilience of eastern Europe is disappearing. ..." (2008-10-23)

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