The Lastest Macroeconomic News
01.10.2014 15:41 Oil Prices Fall, and the Global Economy Wins
Oil is in the midst of one of its steepest selloffs since the financial crisis, with prices falling 16 percent since mid-June. This has the Saudis contemplating even deeper cuts in oil production to keep prices from declining any further. The world`s biggest crude exporter told OPEC recently that in August it reduced output by more than 400,000 barrels a day. It`s not yet clear how well that`s working. The Saudi cuts were offset in part by more oil from Iran, Iraq, and Nigeria - not to mention the continued record increase in U.S. oil production thanks to the shale boom. While prices are expected to rise slightly for international blends of crude over the next six months, domestic prices in the U.S. are forecast to be cheaper by next spring. That`s not necessarily great news for oil producers, but it could be good news for consumers and the global economy. There are two schools of thought to explain the recent crash in oil prices: too little demand and too much supply. The question is which one is having the bigger influence. While the results are the same (lower oil prices), the reason for them is equally if not more important to the global economy. Demand certainly could be stronger. But the bigger factor appears to be on the supply side, as production growth outpaces demand. That was the case last year and is shaping up to happen again in 2014. A new report by Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics, attempts to gauge the hard-to-measure global economic boost from lower oil prices. “A $10 fall in the price of oil transfers the equivalent of 0.5 percent of world GDP from oil producers to oil consumers,” he writes. That in turn will have a knock-on effect on global consumption, since consumers tend to spend more of their income than businesses. Assuming consumers spend half their savings for cheaper oil, Kenningham continues, “a $10 fall in the oil price would boost global demand by 0.2 to 0.3 percent.” This means different things for different parts of the world. In Europe, for example, where policymakers are already struggling with deflation, lower oil prices will only make the European Central Bank`s challenge harder in loosening its monetary policy to try and boost prices. It also might not be good news for some big oil-producing economies.
29.09.2014 10:30 Chinese economy takes 12.3 pct of world total in 2013
The Chinese economy comprised about 12.3 percent of the world total in 2013, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). China`s GDP was 56.9 trillion yuan (9.32 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2013. GDP per capita was 41,908 yuan. These indicate remarkable progresses from 1952, when GDP was 67.9 billion yuan and GDP per capita was 119 yuan. From 1953 to 2013, China`s GDP increased 122 times at comparable prices, with annual average growth of 8.2 percent. The service sector has been growing remarkably. In 1952, agriculture took about 51 percent of the total economy, followed by the service sector with about 28 percent and industry at 21 percent. In 1978, the industrial sector had grown to 48 percent, followed by agriculture with about 28 percent and services on 24 percent. In 2013, the service sector took the largest share for the first time, accounting for about 46 percent.
27.09.2014 12:16 World Bank Slashes Forecast for Russian Economy
The World Bank slashed its forecast for Russia`s economy over the next two years, saying growth would stagnate amid a lack of structural reforms and Western sanctions over Russia`s role in the Ukraine conflict. In its biannual report, the World Bank cut its forecast for Russian economic growth to 0.3% in 2015 and 0.4% in 2016 under its baseline scenario from 1.5% and 2.2%, respectively--well below the government`s estimates. Even under the most optimistic scenario, which envisages the full resolution of the geopolitical tensions and an end of all sanctions by the end of 2014, the World Bank sees only a 0.9% growth in 2015, increasing to 1.3% in 2016. Under the pessimistic scenario of an increasing intensity of geopolitical tensions, the bank said the economy slipping into a protracted low-level recession. If the government lifts caps on budgetary spending in an attempt to kick-start the economy, it would lead to higher inflation, ruble depreciation and further deterioration of the investment climate, the bank said. Although the bank doesn`t expect any limitation of Russia`s oil trade, access to the international capital market would become increasingly restricted for the country`s companies and banks, further increasing borrowing costs and hampering investment activities. Under this scenario the World Bank expects the economy to contract 0.9% next year and by a further 0.4% in 2016. The bank reiterated its usual suggestions for Russia to grow its economy: keep the macroeconomic stability, make the policy environment predictable and ensure a positive shift in business and consumer confidence.
20.09.2014 10:46 1937 parallels for today`s global economy
The depression that followed the stock-market crash of 1929 took a turn for the worse eight years later, and recovery came only with the enormous economic stimulus provided by the second world war, a conflict that cost more than 60 million lives. By the time recovery finally arrived, much of Europe and Asia lay in ruins. The current world situation is not nearly so dire, but there are parallels, particularly to 1937. Now, as then, people have been disappointed for a long time, and many are despairing. They are becoming more fearful for their long-term economic future. And such fears can have severe consequences. For example, the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the Ukrainian and Russian economies might ultimately be behind the recent war there. According to the International Monetary Fund, both Ukraine and Russia experienced spectacular growth from 2002 to 2007: over those five years, real per capita GDP rose 52% in Ukraine and 46% in Russia. That is history now: real per capita GDP growth was only 0.2% last year in Ukraine, and only 1.3% in Russia. The discontent generated by such disappointment may help to explain Ukrainian separatists` anger, Russians` discontent, and the Russian president Vladimir Putin`s decision to annex Crimea and to support the separatists. The despair felt after 1937 led to the emergence of similar new terms then, too. In the late 1930s, people were also worrying about discontent in Europe, which had already powered the rise of Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
19.09.2014 13:59 Here`s What The Global Economy Looked Like In Year 1
Have you ever wondered what the economy looked like in the year 1 AD? Deutsche Bank released a note that included a chart of major global economies in the first year of the common era. They`re ranked by "economic power," which is measured in terms of economic output compared to the total world output. Unsurprisingly, Augustus` Roman Empire ranked first. It controlled slightly over 25% of total world output. Rome`s largest competitors, Parthia (whose modern territory is roughly modern day Iran) and Germany controlled only 2% and 1%, respectively, of the global economic output. Deutsche Bank`s note added that, "whilst economic output is not the only important variable in understanding the ability of a nation or empire to exert global power, it is probably the most important basic element as it determines the total pool of resources that can be devoted to war." "Here the `world` is defined as the empire`s contemporaries would have thought of it - as Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East," bank said. As you can see from the chart, certain empires such as China under the Han Dynasty are excluded.
16.09.2014 19:16 Un Projects 2.5-3% Growth For World Economy In 2014
The global economy is forecast to grow by 2.5 to 3 percent this year, with growth in Asia and sub-Saharan developing economies in excess of 5.5 percent, suggesting they will become the main drivers of the world economy, the UN said. UNCTAD, the UN`s trade and development arm`s annual trade and development report was presented by the UN Development Program`s Resident Representative Kamal Malhotra in Ankara. The Geneva-based think tank calls for major changes in the way the global economy is governed and managed. The report examines the health of the global economy and asks whether current conditions and policies are fit to sustain growth and support an ambitious development agenda after 2015. It calls for more policy coordination at global level and more policy and fiscal space for developing countries to pursue an inclusive and sustainable trade and development agenda. The report argues the global recovery remains weak, while the policies supporting it are not only inadequate but often inconsistent. Six years after the onset of the global economic and financial crisis, the world economy has still not found a sustainable growth path, the report argues. The report forecasts that developing economies as a whole are likely to repeat the performance of previous years, growing at between 4.5 and 5 percent. The growth will exceed 5.5 percent in Asian and sub-Saharan countries, but will remain subdued at around 2 percent in North Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. The report added that international capital flows usually generate a financial cycle in the receiving countries and often increase their financial fragility, eventually leading to a financial crisis.
12.09.2014 14:34 A Western Strategy for a Declining Russia
The Aspen Strategy Group, a non-partisan group of foreign-policy experts that former US National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft and I co-chair, recently wrestled with the question of how to respond to Russia`s actions in Ukraine. And now NATO is wrestling with the same question. While the West must resist Russian President Vladimir Putin`s challenge to the post-1945 norm of not claiming territory by force, it must not completely isolate Russia, a country with which the West has overlapping interests concerning nuclear security, non-proliferation, anti-terrorism, the Arctic, and regional issues like Iran and Afghanistan. Moreover, simple geography gives Putin the advantage in any escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. It is natural to feel angry at Putin`s deceptions, but anger is not a strategy. The West needs to impose financial and energy sanctions to deter Russia in Ukraine; but it also must not lose sight of the need to work with Russia on other issues. Reconciling these objectives is not easy, and neither side would gain from a new Cold War. Thus, it is not surprising that when it came to specific policy recommendations, the Aspen group was divided between “squeezers” and “dealers.” This dilemma should be put in long-term perspective: What type of Russia do we hope to see a decade from now? Despite Putin`s aggressive use of force and blustery propaganda, Russia is a country in decline. Putin`s illiberal strategy of looking East while waging unconventional war on the West will turn Russia into China`s gas station while cutting off its economy from the Western capital, technology, and contacts that it needs.
09.09.2014 17:34 Why Putin`s Russia is weaker than the USSR?
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there`ve been a lot of comparisons between Putin`s Russia and the Soviet Union. There`s a lot wrong with that comparison, starting with one fairly obvious point: the Soviet empire wasn`t just Russia. The Soviet republics in the USSR itself and the "Iron Curtain" client states in eastern Europe were key contributors to Soviet power. And Putin can`t draw on them in nearly the same way as his Soviet predecessors. To see just how much that matters, check out this chart of former Soviet-aligned economies from JP Morgan. Michael Cembalest, the investment firm`s Chairman of Market and Investment Strategy, put together a list of important economic indicators for each country - GDP, trade rate, etc. This isn`t a trivial amount of wealth: Cembalest notes that, together, these countries roughly equal Russia`s current GDP, and their trade volume is 2.5 times larger. What he found is that the bulk of economic power in the former communist bloc now isn`t Putin`s to command, and often is aligned against him. Most of that power is now in NATO and/or EU countries, like Poland and the part of Germany that used to be East Germany, or countries where Cembalest judges Russian influence to be fairly limited.
29.08.2014 18:27 Russia`s Economy Close To Recession With Sanctions, Food Import Ban
Russia`s economy is creeping closer to recession, officials said, while Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict strangle growth and push up inflation. “The economy is close to recession,” Oleg Zasov, head of forecasting at Russia`s economic ministry, told Russian news agencies. The ministry halved its 2015 growth forecast from 2 percent to 1 percent and upped its inflation forecasts, among key economic indicators that the government relies on for budget planning. Citing a ban on Western food imports, introduced by Russia as retaliation for Western sanctions related to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Vedev said at a briefing that inflation is likely to end the year at 7 percent to 7.5 percent, up from a previous forecast of 6 percent. Price levels in the U.S. rise at about 2 percent a year, considered healthy by economists. Vedev also said a new sales tax coming next year could add another 1 percent to the inflation rate. The ministry forecasts growth of 0.5 percent this year, down from the prediction of 1 percent last month, when the West imposed its first sanctions targeting particular sectors of Russia`s economy as punishment for supporting pro-Russian rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine. In 2013, the Russian economy grew by 1.3 percent. Economists polled by Reuters in late July, before Russia`s food import ban, forecasted economic growth of 0.3 percent this year and 6.5 percent inflation. Falling oil prices, which had risen on geopolitical tensions, are also hurting Russia`s economy, a heavy oil exporter. Russia`s benchmark Urals oil fell to $98 a barrel this week, its lowest level since May 2013 and down from $115 a barrel last month, according to OilPrice.com and Russia Beyond the Headlines.
28.08.2014 13:40 When China`s economy will overtake America`s?
LESS than two centuries ago, China was far and away the world`s biggest economy. It accounted for more than 30% of global GDP in 1820, according to estimates by Angus Maddison, a late economist. Its share dwindled in the 19th century as the industrial revolution propelled Europe and America rose up. The 20th was even less kind to China, riven by invasion, civil war and a lurch to communism. Thanks to a furious 35 years of market reforms, it is only a matter of time before China reclaims its spot as the biggest economy of all. Our essay this week—"What China wants"—argues that China now also craves the respect it once enjoyed, but does not know how to achieve it. China`s path to being the world`s biggest economy is, by contrast, much clearer. In December 2010 we introduced an interactive chart that allows you to make your own prediction of when China`s economy will overtake America`s. There are a variety of ways to compare economies. Our chart looks at their GDP in current dollars at market exchange rates. The timing of China`s ascent thus depends on five things: its own growth, America`s growth, the evolution of prices in each country, and the exchange rate between them. Based on this combination of assumptions, China would overtake America as early as 2019. We are now four years into that forecast. How have we done? In the spirit of transparency that we urge of other would-be economic fortune tellers, we admit to being a little off, though not, it must be said, by much. It now looks like America`s eclipse will come two years later than initially anticipated.