The Lastest Macroeconomic News
16.05.2016 11:51 China economy eases in April, sparking worries on rebound
China`s investment, factory output and retail sales all grew more slowly than expected in April, adding to doubts about whether the world`s second-largest economy is stabilizing. Growth in factory output cooled to 6 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Saturday, disappointing analysts who expected it to rise to 6.5 percent on an annual basis after an increase of 6.8 percent the prior month. China`s fixed-asset investment growth eased to 10.5 percent year-on-year in the January-April period, missing market expectations of 10.9 percent, and down from the first quarter`s 10.7 percent. Fixed investment by private firms continued to slow, indicating private businesses remain skeptical of economic prospects. Investment by private firms rose 5.2 percent year-on-year in January-April, down from 5.7 percent growth in the first quarter.
13.05.2016 14:13 Eurozone GDP grew worse than expected, Germany`s GDP growth jumped past forecasts
European statistics agency Eurostat said the single currency union`s economy grew 0.5% in the first three months of 2016, representing a downward revision from its initial estimate of 0.6%. This meant the Eurozone economy grew 1.5% year-on-year, rather than the 1.6% previously thought. GDP expanded in all of the Eurozone countries which provided data except Greece and Latvia, which shrank by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. Outside of the bloc, the economies of Hungary and Poland also contracted in the first three months of the year. German economic growth surged at the start of the year, as strength in domestic demand offset weakness in exports amply, but analysts expected growth to settle down going forward. Gross domestic product in the euro area`s largest economy expanded at a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter clip in the first three months of 2016, according to the country`s statistics office. That followed growth of 0.3% in the final quarter of 2015 and was higher than the 0.6% which economists had penciled in. In comparison to a year ago German GDP grew by 1.6%, up from the 1.3% clip seen at the tail-end of 2015.
12.05.2016 11:23 Bank of Canada: World economy faces risks, but growth likely
While the global economy faces a number of risks, including the potential for a shock from China, the most likely scenario is that growth continues, with some headwinds starting to slowly fade, a senior Bank of Canada official said on Wednesday. Nonetheless, the world economy`s potential growth will be lower than it was 10 years ago, partly due to demographic shifts that policy cannot fully address in the short term, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins said. “There are a lot of downside risks, but I would say though that the most likely thing is that the economy is going to keep growing,” Wilkins told a panel. “There`s not the typical inflation pressures you see that would result in very abrupt increases in interest rates and that`s often what triggers downturns.”
10.05.2016 20:09 Russia`s Gloomy Prospects
Russia`s economic prospects are looking increasingly grim. Last year, plunging energy prices and international sanctions contributed to a 3.7% fall in GDP. Real wages in the country plummeted by around 10%. This year, the negative trend is expected to continue. In 2016, public spending on education and health care is slated to decline by 8%. The Kremlin`s desultory attempts at diversifying the Russian economy have largely failed. Labor productivity remains chronically low, and investment - foreign and domestic - has dried up. Sadly, a turnaround is unlikely. Under current conditions, neither higher energy prices nor the lifting of sanctions would likely be enough to reinvigorate the country`s moribund economy.
07.05.2016 14:11 These 4 things could rattle the global economy
After the darkness at the start to 2016, the world economy actually looks pretty good right now. Despite a bit of softness, US economic data has been surprising to the upside over the last couple of months. The stock market (albeit with a misstep Tuesday), has also been trending up. Across the world, from emerging markets to Europe, everything looks not great but pretty solid. Don`t get too comfortable, however, said Citi`s global economics team this week. "None of the structural headwinds that seem to have plagued the global economy in recent years (a mix of excessive indebtedness, deteriorating demographics, rising political uncertainty as well as the end of the China growth miracle and the commodity supercycle) have been resolved," said Ebrahim Rahbari, Willem Buiter, and Cesar Rojas in a note. The Citi economists cited short-term reasons they are concerned for global growth.
05.05.2016 11:20 The global economy is in bad shape and getting worse
The International Monetary Fund and others have recently revised downward their forecasts for global growth - yet again. Little wonder: The world economy has few bright spots, and many that are dimming rapidly. Among advanced economies, the United States has just experienced two quarters of growth averaging 1%. Further monetary easing has boosted a cyclical recovery in the eurozone, though potential growth in most countries remains well below 1%. In Japan, “Abenomics” is running out of steam, with the economy slowing since mid-2015 and now close to recession. In the United Kingdom, uncertainty surrounding the June referendum on continued European Union membership is leading firms to keep hiring and capital spending on hold. And other advanced economies - such as Canada, Australia, Norway - face headwinds from low commodity prices. Things are not much better in most emerging economies. Among the five BRIC countries, two (Brazil and Russia) are in recession, one (South Africa) is barely growing, another (China) is experiencing a sharp structural slowdown, and India is doing well only because - in the words of its central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan - in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Many other emerging markets have slowed since 2013 as well, owing to weak external conditions, economic fragility (stemming from loose monetary, fiscal, and credit policies in the good years), and, often, a move away from market-oriented reforms and toward variants of state capitalism.
03.05.2016 18:57 Ukraine`s economy will return to growth in 2016
A slight rise in GDP in annual terms is expected in Ukraine in January-March 2016, according to a report from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). "A further recovery of economic activity, in particular, a slight increase in GDP in annual terms will be observed in the first quarter of 2016 as expected," reads the document, the text of which has been posted on the National Bank`s website. As reported, the NBU keeps its forecast for real GDP growth at 1.1% in 2016 and 3% in 2017. The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in 2015 accelerated to 43.3% from 24.9% in 2014, while the fall of GDP accelerated to 9.9% from 6.6% respectively. The economy of Ukraine is expected to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent this year, down 0.5 percent from the prognosis made in October 2015, IMF said. Ukraine`s GDP contracted 9.9 percent, the country`s GDP growth is expected to stay at 1.5 percent in 2016, and reach 2.5 percent in 2017, Sputnik cited International Monetary Fund`s (IMF) World Economic Outlook report as saying.
01.05.2016 15:12 China`s Economy Will Overtake The U.S. In 2018
Each country measures economic growth by its gross domestic product or GDP. Negative or positive GDP indicates whether the economy is contracting or expanding. When you combine the total economic output of each country, the result is global GDP. In this article, we will reveal how America`s contribution to global GDP has been falling while China`s has been rising. The Conference Board estimates that by 2018, China`s contribution to global GDP will surpass that of the U.S. In other words, China`s economy will become more significant than America`s. How is this possible? Is the golden era of “Made in America” in our rearview mirror? Is China entering a modern-day economic dynasty? To find the answer, we will examine the period beginning in 1970 and the forecast through 2025. The U.S. contributed 21.2% of total global economic output in 1970. This remained consistent until the year 2000. In every year since, with one exception, America`s percentage of the world`s economic output has declined. In 2015, the U.S. contributed 16.7% of the world`s economy. By 2025, this is expected to fall to 14.9%. Equally noteworthy is the exceptional rise in China`s economy. In 1970, China was responsible for a mere 4.1% of the total. This rose to 15.6% in 2015. In 2025, China`s contribution to the global economy is projected to be 17.2%. Since 1990, China`s percentage of total global output has risen every year with one exception (1998), when it fell by one percent. The vertical black-dotted line on the chart denotes the year (2018) that China`s economic contribution is projected to surpass the U.S.
28.04.2016 22:33 Russia facing reversal of inflation, creating background for easing of monetary policy
Russia is facing a reversal of inflation and inflationary expectations, which is creating background for easing of the monetary policy, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nikolai Podguzov said. "We have a feeling that the reversal of inflation and inflationary expectations is already there, which has created a background for easing of the monetary policy," he said, adding though that "this is largely for the Central Bank to decide whether it`s reasonable to slash rates at the nearest meeting." According to Podguzov, the Economic Development Ministry expects the regulator to ease the rhetoric regarding its monetary policy. "The background for the rates` reduction is in place. This cycle may be launched via some verbal interventions and the rhetoric of the press release following the board meeting of the Central Bank on its key interest rate, or it may be done simply by cutting the rate," Deputy Minister said.
28.04.2016 16:03 Cities’ share of global GDP up to 70%
Saying that cities have changed into the engine of GDP in the world, the head of international conference on urban economics said, cities’ share of global GDP is more than 70 percent according to the statistics. Referring to the Leader’s speeches regarding 10 key actions to save the country, Hossein Mohammadpour Zarandi, the head of international conference on urban economics in an interview said, “one of the most important provisions of this measure proposed under Resistance Economy model is improvement of energy efficacy; as the Leader emphasized it is possible to save 100 billion USD by optimizing energy.” Noting that improvement of energy efficiency is one of the fields linking Resistance Rconomy and urban economy to each other, Pourzarandi said, according to statistics, urban areas will be extended several times by 2030, which means increase in energy consumption.