NABC NEWS: Aldurian Economy Growth Slows, Consumer Spending Stays Up

[Alduria]

PUNTA SANTIAGO, ALDURIA -- The Aldurian economy slowed this 3rd quarter to 2.32%, from a year-on-year average GDP growth of 6.4% since the ratification of the Constitution, projections from the Bank of Alduria have shown. Phillip Heinault, senior economist at the Bank of Alduria, said that logistical bottlenecks, such as the limited inter-provincial highway and the lack of air, sea, and rail links are a major cause of this economic downturn.

"Production is keeping pace with the current technology," says Heinault, "...but it's the businesses not being able to get their goods to the markets that is slowing individual and collective business growth. Economic activity remains highly centralized at Punta Santiago thanks to its proximity to government regulators, an airport, and more importantly, to a seaport, but if you look at economic growth in the provinces, the farther you are from the capital, the more dismal the economic performance."

Not all is gloomy, however. Says Heinault: "Consumer confidence and spending remains high. Our M3 money supply is growing, but the inflation we're seeing, now hovering at 5%, is the result of too much money chasing too few goods. Trade with our Euran and nearby neighbors is helping pick up the difference in the lack of products, but the internal consumer demand remains high. People have money now. Investor confidence in Alduria also remains high - you can see this in the number of businesses being incorporated, the sustained drop in unemployment, the rise in office property as well as residential rental prices in the national capital, the increasing consumption and need for greater electricity supply." When asked if the Bank of Alduria intended to raise interest rates or increase bank deposit requirements, Heinault said that the matter was being carefully studied. Trained professionals, he said, are running out, with businesses practically in a bidding war in order to win over the best talent. The question on whether to allow in foreign workers or expatriate professionals and executives was a matter best left to Parliament, concluded Heinault.

Among the written recommendations issued by the Bank of Alduria to the Government are the institution of a one-stop-shop system with respect to government permits for businesses, computerization of local governments, an income tax holiday of 3-5 years for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, greater access to loans and credits, expansion of the Postal Savings Bank network, technical training for prospective entrepreneurs, and the semi-privatization and provision for retail investor accounts in the nascent Punta Santiago Stock Exchange.

"Everyone wants to participate in the Aldurian economy, to make money, but some just don't know where to go and how to start," said Gustavus Van Halen, an Aldurian of Batavian descent, proprietor of a well-known jewelry shop located in the business district. Van Halen's is a good example of a solid Aldurian business, with humble beginnings as a pawnbroker, a business started by his father, now retired. Aside from the jewelry business, a sister company is now becoming a mid-sized auction house.

"It might do well for the different professional and trade interests to organize, I mean if the workers can do it, why can't we?"