But could still achieve 3.8% for the whole year As predicted by the Financial Mirror three months ago, the economy slowed in the second quarter, with latest figures showing that gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 3.5% in real terms compared with the same quarter of 2004, whereas it had recorded a growth rate of

The number of motor vehicle registrations has continued to fall compared with the year-earlier period, recording a drop of 4.3% in August 2005 compared with August 2004. Within the overall number, registrations of private saloon cars fell by 13.7%, whereas registrations of light goods vehicles actually rose by 68.5% year on year. The fall in

The EU-harmonised consumer price inflation rate (HICP) increased only slightly in August, rising to 1.5% on the year-earlier period, compared with 1.3% in July. On a month-on-month basis, the HICP was 0.7% higher than July. The mild increase in inflation despite a rapid rise in oil prices is explained by sharp drops in some important

The leading telephone company in the U.S., Verizon Communications Inc., is weighing the sale of its telephone book publishing business to focus on wireless service and high-speed Internet connections. Bloomberg financial news agency, quoting a statement issued late Sunday, said the phone book unit employs 7,300 people and brings in 3.6 bln dollars in annual