ECONOMICS - IMF says Eastern Europe probably past the worst of crisis

ECONOMICS - IMF says Eastern Europe probably past the worst of crisis:

"International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday praised Eastern Europe for its "courage" in addressing economic crises since 2008, stressing that "the worst is most likely behind" it.

"Five years after the start of the crisis the worst is most likely behind you, most countries have returned to positive growth," Lagarde told Romanian bankers and journalists.

"We expect only two countries of the region to be in recession in 2013 - Croatia and Slovenia - compared to eight last year," she added during a speech on "Eastern Europe and Romania: The Road Ahead." First-quarter average growth in the region was positive. The top performers were Latvia, growing 1.4 percent and Lithuania 1.3 percent."

'via Blog this'