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Pagliacci Pizza will begin paying its passing over drivers and food servers nearly 50 cents an hour greater degree today because part of a mandatory adjustment for minimum-wage workers in Washington state. While that might not sound like much, it adds up when you consider that Pagliacci employs 600 people at 21 locations from beginning to end the Seattle superficies.

Co-owner Matt Galvin estimates the minimum-wage increase will add at least $100,000 to Pagliacci’s 2009 payroll costs.

“Our business model is predicated upon the fact that the minimum wage will continue to rise and be the highest in the state,” Galvin said, explaining that he takes it into reckoning when setting prices and evaluating other costs annually.

“I be possible to complain about it, unless it is what it is. As long as our business holds up, we’ll be OK,” he added.

An increase in Washington state’sitting least quantity wage no doubt pleases thousands of workers who give by will see their pay go up to $8.55 an hour — the highest in the United States. That’s 48 cents every hour more than they had been making, representing their single biggest pay put in motion in nine years.

But will the increase ultimately detriment minimum-wage workers?

Some business groups affirmation yes, noting that by forcing employers to pay in greater numbers in opposition to busboys, waitresses and cashiers, it raises the likelihood that they’ll make do by fewer of those types of workers.

It’s an old argument with new impressiveness as joblessness throughout the state worsens amid a deep and prolonged recession.

“As the least quantity wage rises, specifically in a bad arrangement, you end up with fewer jobs,” said Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business, which counts 6,500 private-sector employers among its members.

Previously at $8.07, the state’s minimum undertake now is at $8.55 an hour because of an initiative that voters approved in 1998 to adjust the rate upward each year based on inflation. State law allows 14- and 15-year-olds to be paid 85 percent of the minimum wage, or $7.27.

Groups like Brunell’sitting aren’confidentially trying to block today’s minimum-wage increase — it’s automatic — but they do hope to persuade state lawmakers to consider proposed changes, such as an extension of the 85 percent rule to workers under the load of 18. Otherwise, they say, an increase in the minimum wage makes it more difficult for teenagers to persuade employers to give them their first jobs.

“A minimum-wage job was never meant to sustain a family,” Brunell said. “It was any one each entry-level job or a secondary job to addition income.”

Marilyn Watkins, policy director with a view to the Seattle-based Economic Opportunity Institute, counters that the least quantity wage should be enough to keep workers out of poverty, especially those in operation 40 hours a week or more. If left up to businesses, she said, the least part wage would languish “at a dispirited flush, losing ground to inflation year after year. People who work in minimum-wage jobs dress in’confidentially be in actual possession of a lot of bargaining government,” she said.

The new rate represents any annual paycheck of $17,784 for full-time, minimum-wage workers, a 5.9 percent increase from last year. It’s pegged to the federal Consumer Price Index, which rose 5.9 percent during the 12 months that ended Aug. 31.

About 2.5 percent of the state’s be in action force, roughly 57,000 workers, earned the least part wage in 2007, the most recent year for which facts from the Employment Security Department is available. Restaurants, retailers and farms are the primary employers of minimum-wage workers.

The Washington Restaurant Association calculates that some eatery with 12 full-time employees power of determination spend $11,980 more on payroll this year, excluding taxes, for the reason that of the minimum-wage enlarge. “Bad timing,” says Anthony Anton, the association’session president and CEO.

It’s not that restaurants want to deprive employees of decent wages, he aforesaid, it’s that they’re struggling to manage their costs amid slumping consumer demand and rising food prices. He says the pay increase could be the tipping matter for restaurants taking into account automating more of their functions, causing more job losses. “It’s not a freebie,” he related.

But Watkins says minimum-wage workers typically spend all of their earnings, meaning their additional pay will circulate back into the frugality.

“Workers with $1,000 other thing in their pockets to incur expense will only have a positive press close together for local businesses,” Watkins said, referring to this year’s total increase for someone working 40 hours a week, the full 52 weeks.

“Clearly, we’re in a recession,” she added. “But cutting the real wages of tribe who are doing some of the toughest jobs out there isn’t the appropriate response.”

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008579280_minimumwage01.html?syndication=rss

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NEW YORK — The the last time trading day of 2008 on Wall Street provided a tender-hearted end to an abysmal year — the worst before this the Great Depression, wiping out $6.9 trillion in stock market wealth.

Six years of stock gains disappeared as the economy crumbled and markets crashed about the globe, shaking the confidence of professional and individual investors alike.

But the chaos went far on the other side of the stock market. Credit markets that drive lending became paralyzed, plunging the country further into recession and touching off an unprecedented rush for the safety of Treasury bills, notes and bonds.

Commodities markets, usually ignored by the agency of most investors, soared upon the body speculative buying then collapsed whenever it became transparent the world arrangement was in calamity and that record high prices, including oil’s summer peak more than $147 a barrel, were unjustified.

“It was a feeling of flailing,” declared Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds. “People couldn’t get a grasp because there were not obvious historical precedents.”

By the year’sitting end, many analysts were predicting 2009 would be better, but that recovery would be wearisome similar to investors, shaken by the devastation to their portfolios, U.S. companies and the overall economy, remain reluctant to bribe.

“I think this may be much more of a show-me emporium than we’re used to. The place of traffic is going to subsist looking for some stabilization, increases in earnings, a few more positives in advance of it begins to recover,” said Webman.

Wall Street’s stats for 2008 provide evidence of how stunningly terrible the year was:

• The average price of a share listed adhering the New York Stock Exchange plunged 45 percent to $41.14 by the end of the year from $75.01 a year earlier.

• The Dow Jones pertaining average fell 33.8 percent for the year and 38 percent from its record close of 14,165.53 in October 2007, form it the Dow’session worst year because 1931, while the country was in the Great Depression.

• The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the indicator most watched by market pros, slumped 38.5 percent in 2008 and 42.3 percent from its 2007 high of 1,565.15.

• Investors imperceptible $6.9 trillion as relentless selling reduced the value of stocks across the market. That amount, measured by the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 composite index, represented 38 percent of the total value of U.S. stocks at the start of 2008.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008579234_stoxyear010.html?syndication=rss

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Microsoft just issued the following recital explaining the outage that has pretentious thousands of Zune music players today:

“Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that in that place was a widespread issue impressive our 2006 copy Zune 30GB devices (a extensive number of which are still actively being used). The technical team jumped on the problem this moment and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the wont the device handles a leap year. That being the example, the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009. We look forward to the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit be possible to restart successfully then simply make sure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription contented you have downloaded to your device.”

Microsoft offers more particulars on the cause of the outage here.

Original text: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/12/31/microsoft_explains_zune_outage_internal_clock_coul.html

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A few mob have asked me about a account on an secluded tech intelligence site, Fudzilla, that purports to confirm to the degree that occurrence the rumors of a greater Microsoft layoff coming next month. I’ll say that I am skeptical of the story because: the author does not mention a sole source for the information, anonymous or otherwise; I’ve not seen the site break news of this magnitude before (doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened); the name Fudzilla makes me remember of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Still, there is a lot of chatter going on about cost cuts at Microsoft and whether they will include layoffs or layoffs disguised to the degree that something else. Microsoft is making no official comment on any of this — for the reason that is its practice — and I doubt they will until they’re ready to find a formal announcement.

I can report that I’ve heard from a handful of contractors whose contracts at Microsoft were abruptly cut short.

These people have all asked not to be named, for fear of jeopardizing their chances for future employment by Microsoft and the vendors that contract the company by contract workers.

One man provided an e-mail from earlier in December in which managers at the MSN Homepages Team were informed that all of their contract personnel were being terminated today. The firmness is “due to bag cuts,” the e-mail reads.

My source said this single cut impacted about 180 contractors and vendors.

This is only the same team within a gigantic company, so I hesitate to extrapolate the MSN Homepages actual observation to other regions of Microsoft. But clearly, the company is looking for places to trim and contractors — by their world of matter temporary — are easier to let get along with you than full-timers. This is no surprise being of the kind which Microsoft said at its last quarterly interview call that it would make each effort to adjust costs in light of the global relating to housekeeping downturn.

Meanwhile, the canvassing at Mini-Microsoft, which first floated the idea of a major cut coming Jan. 15, turned more skeptical this week. Mini elevated a series of comments suggesting there will not subsist layoffs in January. Other comments hint a major corporate reorganization that will ultimately cut or consolidate some groups and projects. Mini himself seems to have changed his tune:

“So do I think anything is going to happen January 15th? Well, it is behind CES (we certainly don’t want any bad news before that - though look carefully at the groups there and not in that place) and under the jurisdiction quarterly results (no hurtful surprises delivered with results - check). But back the rather alarming attention the previous rumor-driven blaze abroad got, even if something was going to happen January 15th I’d completely expect that’s off the table at this time. Sorry, Oppenheimer & Co.”

Original text: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2008/12/31/more_speculation_on_microsoft_layoffs_contractor_c.html

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NEW ORLEANS

Battered by a storm-tossed barge, a levee failed and water from the wide Inner Harbor canal blasted through with the force of cannon fire, ripping houses from foundations, tossing cars into trees. In one bad night, the Lower 9th was turned into a job for the scrapers.

Yet, three years later, there she was, Gertrude LeBlanc

“I like to say this house is like a beacon,” the retired postal worker said. “It’s telling the people to come back home.”

This was a few days before Christmas, and LeBlanc had the yellow, wood-framed home fully trimmed, with artificial candy canes lining the walkway and red ribbons and garlands strung over the porch.

“I always said that, if I ever get to come back, I wanted to put up ribbons and garlands for Christmas in my new house,” she said. “That is what I wanted. And that is what I did.”

The house was built by a stranger. A Baptist minister from another part of town showed up one day at the government trailer where LeBlanc was living and said he and a crew of volunteers had come to help her rebuild; “a blessing from heaven,” she called him. She moved into the home in the spring, the first on Tennessee Street to make it back.

From her porch, LeBlanc can see a few houses that have gone up since. They tend to sit far apart, surrounded by abandoned lots covered with weeds and broken foundations and marked by driveways leading nowhere. Snakes have moved into the grass, hunting rodents. It might seem a daunting landscape, but not to Miss Gertie: “To me those houses are like flowers popping up in a garden. There’s just a few of us now. But there will soon be a beautiful garden. Oh, yes.”

Not according to plan

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Lower 9th Ward had been written off by most of the politicians and urban-policy experts who after Katrina set out to engineer a new New Orleans. An inability to protect the low neighborhood in future storms was one reason cited. There also was talk about turning it into an industrial park or a golf resort.

Displaced residents suspected the balkiness about rebuilding might have more to do with many of them being poor and black, a perceived drag on a city trying to restore itself with tourist dollars.

The Lower 9th was one of the first New Orleans neighborhoods where blacks were allowed to own property. Many homes had been passed along by families across three or four generations, often without documentation. After Katrina, these word-of-mouth inheritances tangled up the permit process.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008579431_nawlins01.html?syndication=rss

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BAGHDAD

But the deaths of pair soldiers on the last day of the year underscored that significant violence persists. One soldier was killed by a mortar rotation in Baghdad and the other died from wounds sustained in combat a day earlier in Tikrit, the military said.

By compare, the war in Afghanistan saw U.S. soldiery deaths rise by 35 percent in 2008 as Islamic extremists shift their focus to a new front with the West.

According to a counterpart by The Associated Press, at least 314 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq in 2008, down from 904 in the antecedent year. In all, at least 4,221 U.S. soldiers take died in Iraq since the declared hostilities began in 2003.

In Afghanistan, 151 U.S. soldiers died in 2008, compared with 111 in the previous year, according to an AP tally. The count recorded 1,160 civilians killed in insurgency-related violence, up from 875. At least 625 U.S. soldiers have died because of the war in Afghanistan since the fighting began in 2001. The AP count is based on figures from Afghan, U.S. and NATO officials.

The combined lump of at least 465 U.S. deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan for 2008 is the lowest combined total for both wars since 2003, when the U.S. invaded Iraq.

Many critics have said the U.S. point of convergence on Iraq led it to neglect the strife in Afghanistan, allowing both al-Qaida and Taliban extremists to regroup after being routed in 2001. The Taliban, in the last year, moved into wide swaths of Afghan countryside, where Afghan security forces or between nations troops don’t act. Military commanders in Baghdad say they have enough troops to achieve all battles unless not plenty to hold territory, or to keep remote villages unhurt.

Seth Jones, an analyst with the RAND Corp., said he thinks the insurgency is still quite weak because there is no central overlook mode of building and because it doesn’t have the cherish of local Afghans. But levels of violence have increased since of the continuing use of sanctuaries by the agency of extremist groups in Pakistan.

The plunge in constupration in Iraq follows the U.S. buildup of military force in 2007, coupled with a counterinsurgency campaign that included a decision by Sunni tribesmen to switch allegiances and fight al-Qaida. A focused striving to rout Shiite extremists gave U.S. and Iraqi forces the upper hand.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. David Perkins reported recently that attacks in Iraq had declined to an average of 10 a day from 180 a year gone, and the murder rate in November was less than 1 through 100,000 people

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008579447_wardead01.html?syndication=rss

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Here tend hitherward the snow candidates.

If you thought the December snowstorms were hard to deal with, wait until you hear the squawking about them in upcoming Seattle City Council and mayoral elections. For the next few months, incumbents and challengers will hark back to who failed to do what, when, and

New Year. New political season. Big potential for considerable modify on the City Council. A little less so in the mayor’s function.

The snowstorms, and the city’s plaintive response to them, put the exclamation point on the fact that we need practical pols upon the body the council. Not Joe the Plumber. We total understand the foibles of rank inexperience. But candidates who insist steady composition the city work.

The city is expected to deliver basic services

Most citizens don’t pay much attention to the goings on at City Hall, unless you trap them in their homes with veritably bad snow cleanup for 10 days and then ask what they think.

For days and days, elucidation arterials in and finished of downtown, and parts of important downtown streets, remained unplowed, unsalted or packed down by snow rigging that doesn’t work hale. Policies must be reviewed. The council has meetings scheduled next week to review salt use, snowplow employment and which arterials must be cleared.

If altogether three council members expected to retirement the council do in the same state, three liberal seats would present a big suitable for change. It’s not often that three openings occur at the same time.

So far, only one council member has officially decided not to seek re-election, Richard McIver. But Jan Drago and Nick Licata also are expected to move forward.

The council and its customers, the citizens of Seattle, will be looking for newcomers with practical, common-sense approaches to basics, like snowstorms. The council needs individuals who know problems of retailers at Christmastime, who think on the eve people and fish, in that order, at the altitude. of a blizzard.

No council head is directly responsible for incorporated town policy in provision notwithstanding use of salt on roadways and snowplows with rubber edges that don’t really remove snow, but everyone will have some opinion about it. Expect this to be an delivering at minutest early in campaigns alluring shape the next few months. The city response to the storms speaks to a larger issue: Citizens want basics rendered. properly first, before frills.

For Mayor Greg Nickels, who reversed course on the no-salt policy Wednesday, the lame street clearing of December volition be a greater unpleasantness in his re-election bid, but the topic stops short of a World Trade Organization moment, the kind that did in former Mayor Paul Schell. Then, the city was all broken glass and tear gas. This political moment is a city backed up with weeks-old garbage strewed about, package delivery at a standstill and too crowd unattainable roadways. Claustrophobia on Ice.

Nickels and his forced exile department had an abysmal performance, but the mayor with reason agreed to forthwith review the policy and change it.

The most flawed politicians never admit a mischoose. Nickels foolishly gave his removal part a B grade, which everyone knows is a lot worse. But for Nickels, so far, so good, for the cause that scarcely any strong candidates dare to stick their heads up and say they are running. The only name I keep hearing belongs to greenish developer Greg Smith.

Licata hasn’confidentially undeniable if he will seek re-election or run against mayor. Licata is single in kind of the most lefty members of the council, such he doesn’t present the kind of threat that would really challenge Nickels, someone from the moderate middle.

A list of council wannabes is taking shape for November 2009. Former Seattle SuperSonics center James Donaldson, Sally Bagshaw, who has worked for the King County Prosecutor’session Office, Jordan Royer, the prior mayor’session son, and peradventure Robert Rosencrantz, who has run exclusive times.

It is no mistake that one of the most numerous admired new council members is Tim Burgess, former cop who has worked in marketing for nonprofits. He is described by insiders as full of dignity, honesty and a sense of let’s-get-it-done lacking much self.

Burgess, elected in 2007, provides a template for the nearest round of challengers. Stick to common-sense approaches to problems, and always, always, pronounce basic services.

; for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to www.seattletimes.com/edcetera

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008578360_opin01joni.html?syndication=rss

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WASHINGTON

Thanks to the court-approved wiretaps released last month, we heard evidence that Gov. Rod Blagojevich saw the power to choose of Barack Obama as an chance; fit to extract a juicy payment for himself

In the past few weeks, we’ve learned that the Democratic leaders of the Illinois Legislature saying the embarrassment of the governor (a man they even now despised) as an opportunity to guarantee that Obama’s seat would tarry Democratic. The Democrats rejected legislation to require a special election, and instead are severe to remove Blagojevich by impeachment and give the appointing power to the lieutenant governor.

And then Tuesday, we learned that Roland Burris, a guy who has been death on the gallows on all sides in Illinois politics for decades, saw in all of this an opportunity to vault himself into the Senate

Everyone, including Obama, has been exceedingly polite in their public comments about Burris. I have known him for years and I like him. But I bring forth never been confused about the level of his talent. He was elected as far back as 1978 as state comptroller and stayed in that low-visibility office for 12 years before instigating up to attorney general in 1990.

When he tried to climb higher, he found the competition too tough. He lost a Senate race to Paul Simon, tried three times for the nomination for governor without good fortune, and ran for mayor of Chicago with the same result. He couldn’t get past the Democratic primordial in some of those contests.

Burris is, in short, typical of a lot of politicians in both parties who find a comfortable refuge by the agency of reason of years in down-ballot offices but never make the cut for the major prizes. He was distinguishing in Illinois mainly for fracture the excuse barrier in statewide office, acknowledgments to his downstate birth and friendships and his pleasant, accommodating personality.

It was in no degree accident that, after Obama was elected, Burris’ name rarely figured in theory in opposition to the Senate seat. At 71, decades in the pattern of his last successful election, his political career seemed from beginning to end. But not in his mind. Burris held a news conference putting himself forward as a possible successor to Obama, but he never figured as a emulate to the statewide officials and House members interested in the seat.

So it must have been a transporting surprise and a large-size thrill for Burris when the embattled governor phoned onward Sunday to statement he was prepared to make Burris the new senator.

Blagojevich had already been turned down by Rep. Danny Davis, a doleful Chicago congressman, who said any appointee from the governor would have being too tainted to serve. But Burris had no such qualms.

“I have nothing to do with the governor and his problems,” Burris declared of the adulteration charges U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has lodged against Blagojevich and his former chief of staff. “You’ve got to sunder the appointee from the appointor.”

But that ace of sophistry did not persuade Obama, other Illinois Democrats or Senate leaders, all of whom criticized Blagojevich like being making the designation to office and Burris beneficial to accepting it. Obama repeated his call for Blagojevich to step prostrate and allow a senator to be named “free of impregnate and controversy.”

The conclusive bit of opportunism was supplied by means of Rep. Bobby Rush, the South Side Chicago congressman who has earned a footnote in history during the time that the but man so remoter to beat Barack Obama

Called to the microphone by Burris, Rush immediately played the race card, praising Blagojevich conducive to keeping a black man in Obama’s seat and saying that it would be imprudent for any senator to “deny one African American for being seated in the U.S. Senate.”

The Illinois Democrats have really made a spectacle of themselves.

davidbroder@washpost.com

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008578357_opin01broder.html?syndication=rss

From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research

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MORGAN JOSEPH DOWNGRADES CERADYNE TO HOLD FROM BUY

Morgan Joseph analyst Michael French says Ceradyne (CRDN) won’t ship any of its new X-SAPI body defensive clothing in the fourth quarter 2008 viewed like a result of a stipulation protest by a competitor.

French says the ink on CRDN’s foregoing $72 million body armor order was barely unembellished previous to the Army told the company to stop work; a competitor is believed to have complained that it didn’t be under the necessity chance; fit to update its delivery schedule. He notes that CRDN efficiency have made shipments by yearend, but instead the Army decided to start from mark with a scratch and seek new bids from suppliers.

He cuts $4.04 2008 EPS estimate to $3.99 and $3.17 for 2009 to $2.30.

SANDLER O’NEILL KEEPS SELL ON NATIONAL PENN BANCSHARES

Sandler O’Neill analyst Avi Barak says National Penn Bancshares (NPBC) announced preliminary fourth quarter results, including $60-$65 million other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) charge of the same nature to the assembly’s pooled trust preferred portfolio, $17-$20 million loan loss provident measures, $4.5 million charge related to accounting irregularities.

Barak lowers fourth quarter 2008 estimate to $0.34 loss to reflect OTTI charge and higher-than-expected provision. He is pleased that the company is dealing by securities portfolio issues, further is concerned about higher level of provisioning.

While he views NPBC as a well-run dike, he keeps take a bribe for rating based on valuation (261% of tangible book value).

ROTH CUTS RTI BIOLOGICS TO HOLD FROM BUY

Roth analyst Matt Dolan says he believes RTI Biologics (RTIX) has been collision by a tough global economy that has impacted distribution in meanly every product category, as demand softens and distributors come into view to be tightening inventory.

Specifically, Dolan says the crew’s global dental business and general between nations distribution have experienced weaker-than-expected demand. He also notes Sports Medicine has been mischief by the company shift to its own direct sales reps in certain territories. He says Spine & Surgical group has been hit by register. reductions by distributors.

He cuts his price target to $3.

Original text: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/dec2008/pi20081231_628698.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

Slovakia has become the 16th member of Europe’s pecuniary confederacy. It’s the rudimentary euro zone clause from Central Europe—and the poorest

By Lucia Kubosova

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Ten years after the original 11 countries in western Europe set up a common currency, the pecuniary league is due to enlarge to Slovakia, as its 16th member state and the first in central Europe to switch to the euro.

“I’m fast this event will trigger a lot of positive expectations and positive results for the Slovak economy and citizens,” EU economy and monetary affairs Joaquin Almunia told journalists ahead of 1 January.

“The Slovak economy was able to fulfil al the conditions required to join together the euro less than five years after the population entered the EU and this had required a political will and a very dynamic economy. Now it’session the time to gain the benefits of sharing the corresponding; of like kind transmission from hand to hand,” with 325 a thousand thousand Europeans in the 15-strong eurozone.

Some diplomats and officials described Bratislava’s pathway to the euro as quite “bumpy,” with the country’s ambassador to the EU Maros Sefcovic claiming Slovakia had to convince colleagues about its readiness “at smallest twice as hard” as previous euro newcomers.

After Slovenia entered the eurozone in 2007 and Malta and Cyprus followed suit at the beginning of this year, Slovakia will be the first central European state to join the euro average. It will be the poorest country, with some 67 percent of the eurozone’s average GDP.

During the evaluation process, the long-term foreseeing of the Slovakia’s recompense stability caused the biggest doubts over its readiness to adopt the euro, but contemptuous opposition recording the highest housekeeping growth rates across the EU, Slovakia managed to keep inflation below the required threshold.

Concerning the switch-over in January, concerns over inflation get change to “delegate,” according to Daniel Gros, director of the Brussels-based Centre in the place of European Policy Studies.

He argues that due to the financial crisis, the main challenges for Bratislava will instead be to maintain domestic financial immovability with a well-functioning inter-banking market and to have industry not too a great deal of canting by the slow-down in Europe, particularly in the automobile sector.

Slovakia is the third-largest car manufacturer in central Europe and one of the fastest increasing automotive markets in the region.

The car sedulousness has been severely stroke by the global recession followed by the credit crunch however, with industrial lengthening tasteless on the year in October—the worst performance since March 2005—and below market forecast of a 4.7 percent increase, according to the Slovak Statistics Office.

Commissioner Almunia argues that it will be crucial that Slovakia continues to catch up in terms of GDP by means of capita levels, as well as productivity and competitiveness levels.

“The Slovak economy should be flexible and dynamic, its budgetary cunning sustainable and its labour market adjustments should take place smoothly—if these conditions are met, all the benefits of the euro will be higher,” said the commissioner.

Who comes next?

As a significantly poorer country having transformed itself from a centrally-planned economy to a place of traffic economy, Slovakia’s accession to the EU’s monetary union has been watched closely being of the class who a test case according to other states hoping to connect with.

“Slovakia will be the key example in the future when decisions in succession future entrants are made for the reason that grant that the country functions smoothly, it determination be a good argument for the countries in the same space,” Zsolt Darvas, from the Brussels-based Bruegel think-tank told EUobserver.

He pointed out that Poland and Hungary are the most pleasing to join behind their Visegrad neighbour, since the governments of both countries have indicated they would like to enter the so-called European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), a fixed exchange rate waiting stead for the euro.

As the candidates to join the European currency need to tarry in the system for a minimum of two years, Mr Darvas argues that the two Poland and Hungary could join the euro in three years from now.

While Poland currently meets all necessary euro entry criteria, albeit through slightly high self-complacency, Hungary would have a problem with a public debt, popularly at the level of 66 percent of GDP, above the eurozone’s threshold of 60 percent.

The Czech Republic would also make it to the euro aggregate without major problems according to several analysts. But just as in the UK, where some insiders assert the government is considering such a possibility, the euro remains a matter of political division.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia acquire all joined ERMII but are commonly facing problems due to the global financial crisis, so their original plans to appropriate the euro in 2009 or 2010 have been postponed till each unknown be dated.

On the other hand, Denmark might be the next western European country to alter to the common currency area—also as each indirect consequence of the high character crunch and economic recession.

he eurozone was launched on 1 January 1999 across 11 countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Greece met the convergence criteria in 2000 and joined in January 2001.

The UK and Denmark secured a derogation to stay outside the euro area, during the time that Sweden had legally committed to adopt the common currency but had in the way that far not fulfilled the obligation as the country’session voters rejected the move in a referendum.

After Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus and Slovakia, all other countries in central and eastern Europe as well as Bulgaria and Romania are also due to become the members of the eurozone whenever they are ready.

Original text: http://rss.businessweek.com/~r/bw_rss/europeindex/~3/499658346/gb20081231_613871.htm