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To: yard_man who wrote (183588)	7/25/2002 6:15:18 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

GEEEEEEE and we were thinking EZ is different Portugal had only 4% of GDP budget deficit and counting Well the EUR is powering higher any way so my puts should go puff <GG> GROUP 3G MOTHBALLED AS SHAREHOLDERS MAKE WRITEDOWNS Telefonica Moviles said it made extraordinary provisions of E4.9bn on its UMTS businesses, while Sonera writes off E4.3bn.

To: yard_man who wrote (183588)	7/25/2002 8:04:35 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Portugal says '01 deficit 4.1 pct GDP ---- (so who is next ? Spain Italy ?? - cooking books not only at WorldCom) July 25, 2002 04:10 PM ET By Ian Simpson LISBON, July 25 (Reuters) - Portugal's budget deficit breached a euro currency zone limit last year, reaching 4.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Finance Minister Manuela Ferreira Leite said on Thursday. The gap means that Portugal will be the first country in the 12-nation euro currency zone to undergo European Union proceedings because of its budget shortfall. A special panel headed by Bank of Portugal Governor Vitor Constancio arrived at the figure in an audit of last year's government books, Ferreira Leite said in a televised news conference. "We have to act very rapidly to restore Portugal's credibility in the European Union," Ferreira Leite said. "This is a serious situation, but it doesn't scare us because it can be solved." The centre-right government, which took office in April, will meet its goal of holding the deficit to 2.8 percent of GDP this year and drive the deficit lower in 2003, she said. She spoke after a special cabinet meeting to analyse the budget report. Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso appointed the panel to assess last year's budget shortfall. The previous Socialist government had estimated the gap at 2.2 percent of GDP, twice its original target. A European Union source said last week that the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, could start the sanctions process this month against Portugal. The European Commission also has warned France, Italy and Germany about their budget deficits. Portugal's new government passed a revamped budget in May to cut the 2002 shortfall by 2.1 billion euros in six months. Measures included hiking the value-added tax, ending mortgage subsidies, dismissing thousands of short-term workers and abolishing 70 public institutes. Ferreira Leite did not give details about how the deficit was wider than initially estimated. However, Diario Economico newspaper said this week the shortfall was caused in part by ballooning debt by cities and booking irrecoverable taxes as revenues.