In 2024 , the Latvian residential real estate market showed moderate growth and stability despite global economic challenges.
In Riga, apartment prices increased by 5-7% year-on-year, while in other major cities, such as Daugavpils and Liepaja, the growth was around 3-4%.
Most transactions with new apartments in the capital were concluded in the price range of EUR 100,000 to 150,000, indicating a steady demand for mid-market housing.
In 2024, there was an increased interest in suburban real estate due to the changing preferences of buyers seeking more spacious and environmentally friendly housing.
However, the segment of new buildings saw a one-third decline in sales, while sales in the secondary market and in prefabricated buildings increased.
The rise in mortgage interest rates due to the increase in the Euribor rate led to a decline in real estate activity. Many buyers have taken a wait-and-see attitude, waiting for lending conditions to stabilize.
Experts expect the real estate market to revive in 2025. Lower interest rates and stabilization of the economic situation may stimulate demand for housing. The market is expected to become more dynamic, and buyers will be willing to invest in green architecture and energy-efficient housing.
However, the issue of prices will remain relevant, and buyers will have to choose between more spacious housing outside the city or smaller apartments in the center. All in all, 2025 promises to be a favorable year for the Latvian real estate market, with the possibility of increased activity and price stabilization.
Source: http://relocation.com.ua/analiz-rynku-zhytlovoi-nerukhomosti-la/
By standard measures such as job and GDP growth and the stock market, the US economy was in excellent shape
Donald Trump keeps saying he inherited a terrible economy from Joe Biden and many Americans believe him, even though that’s not true. During his White House marketing event for Tesla on Tuesday, Trump said the US and its economy “went to hell” under Biden. Last week, in his national address to Congress, Trump said: “We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.”
But the truth is that by standard economic measures, the US economy was in excellent shape when Biden turned over the White House keys to Trump, even though most Americans, upset about inflation, told pollsters the economy was in poor shape.
When Biden left office, the unemployment rate was a low 4.1%, and during Biden’s four years in office, the average jobless rate was lower than for any president since the 1960s. Trump has repeatedly railed against the high inflation under Biden, but the fact is that by the time Biden left office, the inflation rate had fallen to just 2.9% – down more than two-thirds from its peak and near the Federal Reserve’s inflation goal.
Stocks tank and egg prices soar under Trump
Not only that, the nation’s GDP growth has been impressive, rising at a solid 3.1% rate at the end of Biden’s term. Ever since the pandemic ended, economic growth in the US has been considerably stronger than in the UK, France, Germany and other G7 nations. Shortly before election day, the Economist magazine ran a story saying the US economy was “the envy of the world” and had “left other rich countries in the dust”.
Trump often says job growth under Biden was terrible, but the fact is that the US added 16.6m jobs during Biden’s presidency, more than during any four-year term of any previous US president. Under Trump, job growth was far worse – during his first four-year term, the nation lost 2.7m jobs overall, making Trump’s presidency the first since Herbert Hoover’s during which the nation suffered a net loss in jobs. The pandemic was largely responsible for this, but even during Trump’s first three years in office, before the pandemic hit, job growth was only half as fast as it was under Biden.
Recently, Trump has repeatedly boasted how his tariffs will bring back manufacturing. Trump fails to note, however, that Biden had considerable success in bringing bring back manufacturing and factory jobs. Under most recent presidents, the US lost manufacturing jobs, but under Biden, the nation gained an impressive 750,000 factory jobs, the most under any president since the 1970s. A big reason for this was that as a result of Biden’s green jobs legislation and the Chips Act to boost semiconductor production, manufacturing investment boomed, more than doubling during Biden’s four years in office.
Biden took considerable pride about how the economy performed under him, even though he failed to persuade most Americans that the it was doing well. In December, Biden wrote: “Incomes are up by nearly $4,000 adjusted for inflation [since he took office], and unions have won wage increases from 25% to 60% in industries like autos, ports, aerospace, and trucking. We’ve seen 20 million applications to start small businesses. Our economy has grown 3% per year on average the last four years – faster than any other advanced economy. Domestic energy production is at a record high.”
Many economists vigorously disagree with Trump’s claim that he inherited a poor economy. Paul Krugman wrote that in January, when Biden left office, the US had what was “very close to a Goldilocks economy, in which everything is more or less just right”. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, had even more glowing words. “President Trump is inheriting an economy that is about as good as it ever gets,” he said. “The US economy is the envy of the rest of the world, as it is the only significant economy that is growing more quickly post-pandemic than pre-pandemic.”
Trump pays attention to one measure of the economy above all others: how the stock market is doing. During Biden’s four years, Wall Street did very well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 39% and the S&P 500 soared by 55.7%, including a 28% jump during 2024. In contrast, the stock market is down overall since Trump took office as investors have grown alarmed about the president’s tariff war against the US’s trading partners.
To be sure, there were some serious economic problems under Biden. Housing affordability was a major problem, and inflation rose to uncomfortable levels. The spike in prices was caused largely by two factors: the pandemic, which gave rise to worldwide supply chain problems, and Putin’s war in Ukraine, which pushed up food and fuel prices. But Trump, in denouncing Biden on inflation, ignores all that.
As Trump’s trade war spooks the markets and makes nervous CEOs rethink their investment plans, many economists are saying it’s more and more likely the US will stumble into recession this year.
Trump has a long history of refusing to accept blame for mistakes and problems, and by repeatedly claiming he inherited a horrible economy, he seems to be laying the groundwork to blame Biden if the country slides into a painful recession.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/16/trump-biden-economy
Austria will allocate EUR5 million to Ukraine for demining of agricultural land and EUR2 million to support the Grain from Ukraine program as Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger visits Kyiv on Friday, Die Presse reports.
“For Meinl-Reisinger, the trip to Kyiv is “the first real trip abroad” in her new position, as the Brussels she visited last week is not really a visit to another country for her,” the newspaper writes.
The European media outlet added that the Austrian foreign minister’s luggage included a check for EUR5 million to help clear agricultural land of mines and EUR2 million to supply Ukrainian grain to Middle Eastern countries in need.
As reported, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger arrived in Kyiv on Friday. Immediately after her arrival, she and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga laid flowers at the wall of memory of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
The program of Meinl-Reisinger’s visit includes a meeting with the Ukrainian leadership, in particular with Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was notified today by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) that the federal grant agreement that funds the broadcaster’s global operations has been terminated.
“RFE/RL was informed today that the federal grant agreement that funds our global operations has been terminated. Canceling the RFE/RL grant agreement would be a gift to America’s enemies,” the radio pressroom said in a post on social media X.
“Canceling the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty grant agreement would be a huge gift to America’s enemies. Iranian ayatollahs, Chinese communist leaders, and autocrats in Moscow and Minsk would celebrate the closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 75 years from now. Defeating our adversaries would make them stronger and America weaker. Throughout its history, Radio Liberty has received strong bipartisan support. Without us, the nearly 50 million people in gated communities who depend on us weekly for accurate news and information will not have access to the truth about America and the world,” said RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus.
Earlier, it was reported that Voice of America’s funding had been cut off, with the White House releasing a series of comments on its operations, including President Donald Trump’s administration saying taxpayers will no longer be “on the hook for radical propaganda.”
In February, U.S. billionaire Ilon Musk, who headed the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, called for an end to funding for Radio Liberty and Voice of America.
Voice of America (Voice of America) is an international media and language organization that operates in more than 40 languages online, on radio and television.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, until 1959 called Radio Liberation) is an online publication and radio station that positions itself as a private, non-profit news and information media outlet. It is funded by the United States Congress. Radio has repeatedly been seen as a disseminator of American propaganda and U.S. interests.
Last year, BNSF Insurance (formerly Brokbusiness Insurance Company, Kyiv) collected UAH 581.34 million in gross written premiums, which is 52.45% more than in 2023, according to the information of Expert Rating RA in confirming the financial strength rating of the company at uaAA+ according to the national scale.
According to the RA, the share of insurance premiums attributable to reinsurers decreased by 22.07%, and in the structure of gross premiums it decreased by 1.48 percentage points (p.p.) to 1.56%.
In 2024, BNSF Insurance paid 57.65% more insurance claims and indemnities than in the previous year, and the level of payments increased by 1.11 p.p. to 33.64%.
In 2024, the company’s equity capital increased by 25.25% to UAH 174.53 million, and its gross liabilities increased by 23.55% to UAH 277.5 million, resulting in an increase in the level of equity coverage of the company’s liabilities by 0.85 percentage points to 62.89%.
The amount of cash and cash equivalents in 2024 increased by 31.08% and as of December 31, 2024 amounted to UAH 266.16 million, and the ratio between cash and liabilities of the insurer increased by 5.50 p.p. to 95.91%.
Thus, as of the beginning of 2025, BGS Insurance was provided with highly liquid assets that covered its liabilities by 95.91%.
The company’s operating profit for 2024 amounted to UAH 10.66 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 29.16 million.
BGS Insurance has been operating in the Ukrainian insurance market for over 25 years and is represented in all regions of the country. It has 39 licenses for voluntary and compulsory insurance.
In 2024, Quorum Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 69.451 million, which is 40.34% more than in 2023, the rating agency (RA) Standard-Rating reported in information on updating the company’s credit rating/financial strength rating on the national scale at uaAA.
It is specified that the rating was updated based on the analysis of the company’s performance for the specified reporting period.
The insurance company’s revenues from individuals increased by 37.91% to UAH 41.916 million for the year. There were no revenues from reinsurers. The share of individuals in gross premiums amounted to 60.35%.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in 2024 amounted to UAH 20.443 million, which is 27.24% higher than in 2023. The ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums decreased by 3.03 p.p. to 29.44%.
The RA notes that the insurer’s net written premiums for the year increased by 46.64% to UAH 49.008 million, net earned premiums – by 47.32% to UAH 49.052 million.
The volume of insurance claims paid by Quorum Insurance Company in 2024 increased by 35.33% compared to 2023, to UAH 8.753 million. The level of payments fell by 0.47 percentage points to 12.60%.
As noted, the company’s activities during the period were profitable. In particular, profit from operating activities amounted to UAH 8.578 million, net profit – UAH 8.288 million.
As of January 1, 2025, the insurer’s assets increased by 9.26% to UAH 69.895 million, equity – by 9.62% to UAH 61.420 million, liabilities – by 6.78% to UAH 8.475 million, cash and cash equivalents – by 12.26% to UAH 49.854 million.
Quorum Insurance Company was established in March 2014 and specializes in risk insurance.
