GARS warns of Japanese-style ‘lost decade' in Europe

Eurozone countries face a decade of deflation and stagnation if governments fail to tackle debt and slow growth plaguing the region, Standard Life Investments' global strategy head has said.

In a paper on the similarities between Japan and the eurozone, Andrew Milligan (pictured) - a member of the £17.9bn Global Absolute Return Strategies fund team - said the region faced the spectre of deflation unless growth could be boosted. "There is a growing risk that the eurozone as a whole, and some countries such as Italy in particular, are beginning to see similar problems to Japan," he said. He said the consequences for the West of a Japanese-style lost decade would be "awful". "Japan's experience since 1990 is a salutary lesson in how not to deal with the aftermath of a fin...