Portugal Jan Global Trade Balance: €-2.221B vs €-2.58B in Dec

European Commission president Barroso reportedly wrote a letter to European leaders urging "steadfast implementation of reforms", apparently to counter growing criticism of European austerity. According to the NY Times, the letter was accompanied by charts that showed Ireland and Portugal as having benefited from rigorous turnaround programs, but that also showed countries including France, Italy, Belgium and Hungary were still disadvantaged by high labor costs compared with their trading partners.