The Netherlands: Connectedness of the Dutch Economy Leads to Lower GDP Growth Forecast

 In this blog written for IMF Country Focus, the IMF’s mission  brief for the Netherlands, Alfredo Cuevas, explains that this economic integration could signal a slower recovery for the country from the crisis.

The GDP growth forecasts for the Netherlands issued by the IMF in its April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) surprised many, not only for the large negative 2020 number itself, but for it being weaker than some other leading European economies. Let me make some general considerations about orecasting amid today’s immense uncertainties, and then look at the Dutch
economy.

Economists often conceptualize macroeconomic variables, such as real GDP growth, as the sum of a predictable or systematic component and an unpredictable shock. We develop and estimate statistical models of the predictable part and use them to make forecasts.

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Connectedness of the Dutch Economy Leads to Lower GDP Growth Forecast

EU: Lobbyist register to be tightened after Monsanto case - by Nikolaj Nielsen

Updated EU transparency rules set for the end of this year means lobbyists will have to declare much more accurate - and thus likely larger - figures on what they spend to influence EU decision-making.

The figures currently cited in the EU's joint transparency register are widely suspected of being under-reported.

The register is shared between the European Commission and the European Parliament, and lists thousands of companies, consultancies and NGOs that work to influence EU legislation.

The authority that oversees the register recently announced in a letter it would impose clearer rules to make sure lobbyists do not skirt their reporting obligations.

The issue came to a head when pro-transparency group Corporate Europe Observatory complained that the US giant Monsanto had failed to truly declare how much it spent in a campaign to steer the debate around its controversial weedkiller glyphosate.

Read more: Lobbyist register to be tightened after Monsanto case

Europeans don’t trust the US or Trump, poll says - by Annabelle Timsit

Donald Trump has damaged America’s standing in the world in his three years as president, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Europe.

A new report (pdf), published by the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR),  found that Europeans “no longer believe that the US can serve as the guarantor of their security.” They also overwhelmingly favor neutrality rather than siding with the US on global issues. The survey covered more than  60,000 people across 14 European Union member states, including France, Slovakia, Poland, and Spain.

Read more at: Europeans don’t trust the US or Trump, poll says — Quartz

The Netherlands: Robots work at Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands

When Hu Shaosong saw robotic waiters serving food in China last fall, he knew exactly what he wanted for his restaurant in the Dutch beachside town of Renesse. He just didn't have a clue how useful they would prove.

The coronavirus pandemic has turned a whimsical idea nto perhaps a window into a dystopian future where a human touch may make people cringe with fear, and a waiter clearing the table sends a
customer tense with stress — only to be relieved by a soothing brush with plastic.

Now, his two shiny white-and-red robots glide across he dining area's floor where, once the restaurant reopens, they will be serving Chinese and Indonesian specialties like Babi Pangang and Char Siu at 15.5 euros (17 U.S. dollars) each.

"Hello and welcome" the robots say — in a voice best described as pre-programmed.

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Robots work at Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands - CGTN

The Netherlands: Jewish schools have reopened in the Netherlands, but some worry that their security is compromised - by Cnaan Liphshiz

The Dutch government’s decision to reopen the country’s schools came none too soon for Channa Feige, a mother of  nine who teaches Torah at a Jewish elementary school here.

Read Moreat: Jewish schools have reopened in the Netherlands, but some worry that their security is compromised - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Spain: Minimum income: Socialist government backs benefit for 850,000 vulnerable families

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, from the ruling Socialist Party, described it as "historic measure", adding: "a country does not prosper if it leaves out part of its population".

He said that it will "protect those who are having the worst time, fight poverty and contribute to the economic recovery of the country".

Read more at:
Spain minimum income: Socialist government backs benefit for 850,000 vulnerable families | Euronews

US Economy: New wave of U.S. layoffs feared as coronavirus pain deepens

 Job cuts by U.S. state and local governments whose budgets have been
crushed fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and more second-wave layoffs in
the private sector likely contributed last week to a 10th straight week
of more than 2 million Americans seeking unemployment benefits.

Read more at:
New wave of U.S. layoffs feared as coronavirus pain deepens - Reuters