Stefan Bruckbauer This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Losing enthusiasm on joining the euro?

   www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/28/2005   Last Visited: 4/28/2005

   The main reason is continued weakness in their fiscal position, said Stefan Bruckbauer of Bank Austria Creditanstalt in Vienna. For example, Poland, which forecast a budget deficit of 5.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2005, would be expected to bring that below 3 percent for euro qualification. That, said Bruckbauer, would be harsh medicine for a population that has had to swallow unremitting spending cuts in the past decade. "Some people are tired and it's not so easy to sell more cutbacks," Bruckbauer said. "It's hard for politicians to force budget cuts." Poland, as the largest of the three, may also be keen to hang on to flexibility with its exchange rates to help attract foreign investment and cushion the economy as it adjusts to the stipulations of euro membership, he said.

2. 2. Eastern Europe unfazed by drop of dollar

   www.iht.com/articles/2004/12/1 - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/15/2004   Last Visited: 12/15/2004

   Strong productivity gains in Hungary have dampened the effects of the strong forint, according to Stefan Bruckbauer, an economist with Bank Austria Creditanstalt in Vienna.

3. 3. Bulgaria Online

   www.online.bg/ASP/wwwbgweb2.as - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/15/2003   Last Visited: 8/16/2003

   "Today Austrians spend almost as much in Central and Eastern Europe as in Italy," says Stefan Bruckbauer of Bank Austria Creditanstalt's Economics Department.
   ...
   "Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia and Hungary have benefited from above-average growth in travel spending in the past five years, " says Stefan Bruckbauer. In addition to the geographical location and the advantages offered to business people and tourists in the various CEE countries, the low price levels continue to be a major attraction. This is true not only for shopping tourists but increasingly also for holiday-makers. "In Central and Eastern Europe the euro is worth almost twice as much, in average terms, than in Austria," Stefan Bruckbauer explains. Despite the approximation of price levels in the past few years, prices in CEE countries are still significantly lower than in Austria. "The purchasing power of the euro in CEE is much higher than in Austria. 100 euros in Austria are worth 150 euros in Croatia and Slovenia. In Bulgaria the purchasing power equivalent is 400 euros", says Stefan Bruckbauer.