Categories: EuropeInternational Investing

Merkel Says Balanced Budget, Energy Will Take Priority in Her Third Term

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Merkel Says Balanced Budget, Energy Will Take Priority in Her Third Term (Bloomberg)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said eliminating the budget deficit and completing the country’s transformation from coal and nuclear energy to renewables are key priorities for her third four-year term. While Germany is recovering economically with rising employment, despite tough global competition, the nation’s progress depends on advances in Europe overall and overcoming the government debt crisis plaguing the continent, Merkel said. Merkel, who was sworn in for a third term on Dec. 17, is benefiting from an economic rebound in Germany as she seeks to end net new borrowing by 2015. The chancellor is bound by constitutional rules to balance the budget by 2016 and by European Union pledges to cut the national debt to 60 percent of economic output from about 80 percent today.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.