The dispute over deflation in the eurozone has become increasingly acrid. Jürgen Stark, the ECB’s former chief economist, accused the International Monetary Fund and others calling for QE of scaremongering. “Warnings about outright deflation and calls for ECB action are misguided and irresponsible,” he wrote.
The IMF says there is a 20pc risk of deflation in the eurozone. It also warns that chronic “lowflation” of 0.5pc is also corrosive, making it harder for Italy, Portugal and others to claw back competitiveness without suffering a further rise in their debt ratios. Each year of lowflation pushes southern Europe closer to the limits of debt sustainability. EMU-wide inflation fell to 0.5pc in March, far below the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) 2pc target. Andrew Roberts, from RBS, said the rate was nearer 0.3pc after stripping out VAT tax rises. The RBS “deflation vulnerability indicator” has risen to 80pc for Spain, 64pc for Ireland, 55pc for the Netherlands and 52pc for Portugal.
Peter Schaffrik, from RBC, said eurozone inflation was likely to rebound in April since the timing of Easter distorted the data, but warned that there was a “powerful dynamic” holding Europe back. He said the European Central Bank would have to ask whether its staff model was reliable.
Sweden’s Riksbank admitted in its latest monetary report that something unexpected had gone wrong, perhaps due to a worldwide deflationary impulse. “Low inflation has not been fully explained by normal correlations between developments in companies’ prices and costs for some time now. Companies have found it difficult to pass on their cost increases to consumers. This could, in turn, be because demand has been weaker than normal,” it said
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Researchers found that 15,000-40,000 excess deaths every year are caused by acute kidney injury (AKI), which causes a loss of kidney function and can develop very quickly. It can occur in people who are already ill with conditions such as heart failure or diabetes and those admitted to hospital with infections.
AKI can also develop after major surgery, such as some kinds of heart surgery, because the kidneys can be deprived of normal blood flow during the procedure. Severe dehydration is one of the main causes of the condition.
AKI costs the health service more than £1bn every year, according to a study commissioned by NHS Improving Quality.
The research, carried out by kidney disease experts and Insight Health Economics, found that AKI is five times more prevalent in English hospitals than previously thought.
The report's co-author Prof Donal O'Donoghue, consultant renal physician at Salford Royal NHS foundation trust, said: "We know that at least a thousand people a month are dying in hospital from AKI due to poor care.
"These deaths are avoidable. This is completely unacceptable and we can't allow it to continue. Good basic care would save these lives and save millions of pounds for the NHS. Doctors and nurses need to make elementary checks to prevent AKI. In general, people who are having surgery shouldn't be asked to go without water for longer than two hours.
"Sometimes that is unavoidable, but then medical staff need to check their patients are not becoming dehydrated. They also need to be aware that some common medications increase the risk of AKI."
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