Page 21 - Economy

German budget crisis deepens with freeze on new spending commitments

Existing liabilities will be honored but new commitments can be unblocked only in exceptional cases, according to a letter sent to government ministries

IMF revises Pakistan's foreign loan requirement to $25 bn: Report

The IMF has revised down Pakistan's foreign loan requirements to USD 25 billion for the ongoing fiscal year -- reducing it by USD 3.4 billion in a big relief for its cash-starved economy, according to a media report on Saturday. The Washington-based global lender also lowered the economic growth projection to just 2 per cent, turning down the government's external as well as macroeconomic forecasts, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The International Monetary Fund's delegation wrapped two-week-long talks with Pakistani officials on November 15 and announced that a staff-level agreement has been reached to enable it to release USD 700 million in the second tranche of an already agreed USD 3 billion loan. The report said that in comparison with July this year, the IMF lowered the foreign loan requirements for this fiscal year from USD 28.4 billion to USD 25 billion. In four months, the government has already borrowed USD 6 billion while it expects rollovers of USD 12.5 ...

Increase in gas prices drives short-term inflation to 42% in Pakistan

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said the inflation reading stood at 41.9 per cent for the week ending November 16

$1 trn economy vision: Maharashtra needs $1.53 trn investment in 6 years

Maharashtra will require cumulative investment of USD 1.53 trillion over the next six years to become a USD one trillion economy, a vision statement prepared by the Maharashtra Institution of Transformation (MITRA) said. A presentation of the vision statement was made on Friday to the state cabinet, which accepted 341 recommendations. MITRA is Maharashtra's economic advisory council and was set up in December 2022 to prepare the state's economic development vision. The vision statement spoke about achieving 17 per cent GSDP growth as well as creation of 15 million jobs over the next six years. Asserting that Maharashtra was the powerhouse of the Indian economy, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he wanted the state's GSDP to touch USD one trillion by 2028. The state cabinet accepted 341 recommendations made in the MITRA vision document, including growth leverage to boost tourism, developing anchor destination and creating a cluster of connectivity and hotel ...

Economy still fragile, support from IMF to continue: Pakistan's FM

Pakistan's caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar has said Pakistan's economy continues to remain fragile despite improvements and the cash-strapped nation would have to go for more IMF loans for some time, a media report said on Friday. Akhtar also emphasised that Pakistan needs strong financial reforms to strengthen its economy, the Dawn newspaper quoted her as saying. "The next International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme is very necessary for some time as the economy has returned to stability that was still very fragile. Until we are able to increase exports and domestic resources, we will need another programme," Akhtar said. Her remarks came a day after the Pakistan government and the IMF concluded a review of the ongoing USD 3 billion stand-by agreement with a staff-level agreement, opening the way for Pakistan to get USD 700 million in the second tranche. She said there was no more refuge from undertaking long-standing reforms. The country will not survive without this.

India, US, 12 other IPEF members conclude talks on fair economy agreements

After signing the supply chain resilience pact, India, the US, and 12 other members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) have announced the conclusion of negotiations on fair and clean economy agreements. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was here for the IPEF ministerial meeting. According to a joint statement from IPEF partner nations, the member countries will now undertake the necessary steps, including further domestic consultations and a legal review, to prepare the final texts of the agreements. Once finalised, the proposed agreements will be subject to IPEF partners' domestic processes for signature, followed by ratification, acceptance, or approval. "Today, the 14 IPEF partners announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations of the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement, and the Agreement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity at the IPEF Ministerial Meeting in San Francisco, California," the

Record merchandise trade deficit in Oct likely to be a one-off: Analysts

India's merchandise trade deficit rose to an all-time high of $31.46 billion in October, widening sharply from the $19.37 billion print in prior month. Imports jumped from $65 billion from $53.8 bn

India to emerge as third largest global economy by 2027: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to emerge as the third largest economy in the world by 2027. Addressing the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue here, Sitharaman said India's economic growth is estimated to be just under 7 per cent during the year, the highest among major economies, despite global headwinds. The Indian economy is therefore on the right track and is heading towards a bright future, she said. Amidst supply-chain disruptions and economic turbulence due to contemporary conflicts that impact the Indo-Pacific, irrespective of whether they are occurring in relatively distant Ukraine or in relatively-proximate Israel or Yemen, and despite the palpable tensions prevalent in the South- and East China Sea, the Indian economy stands out as a bright spot, she said. "Even according to the usually conservative estimates of the IMF, the Indian economy is set to emerge as the world's third largest economy by 2027, hopp

Crude oil gains on China economic data, strong demand expectation

Brent futures rose 20 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.67 a barrel by 0427 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 15 cents, also 0.2%, to $78.28

Japan's economy sinks into contraction as spending, investment decline

Japan's economy slipped into a contraction in the third quarter, decreasing at an annual pace of 2.1% as consumption and investments shrank, the government reported Wednesday. Real gross domestic product, which measures the total value of a nation's products and services, fell 0.5% in the July-September period for the world's third largest economy, the Cabinet Office said. That would produce a 2.1% drop if the quarter's performance continued for a full 12 months. The downturn came after the economy grew a revised 3.7% in the first quarter and a revised 4.5% in the second quarter on an annualized basis, according to the government figures. The third quarter's performance was far worse than what had been expected, according to the financial services company ING, which had forecast an annual contraction of 0.5%. Most of the miss in the consensus forecast came from weaker-than-expected domestic demand items, such as consumer spending, business investment and inventory accumulation, Rob

Nine states record higher inflation rates compared to national average

Among the advanced economies, only the UK has recorded higher prices compared to India

British economy flatlines in Jul-Sep quarter ahead of budget statement

The British economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year, official figures showed Friday ahead of a budget statement from the government later this month. The Office for National Statistics said growth in the July-to-September period was zero compared to the previous three-months. All sectors, such as manufacturing and construction, broadly showed the same subdued picture. Despite the uninspiring headline figure, the quarterly outcome was slightly ahead of analysts' expectations for a modest decline in output. The British economy, like many others particularly in the world, is struggling to grow in the face of higher interest rates, which are aimed at taming inflation. Last week, the Bank of England kept its main interest rate unchanged at the 15-year high of 5.25% and indicated that borrowing costs will likely remain at these sort of elevated levels for a while. The Bank of England, like other central banks, raised interest rates aggressively from near zero as it sought to

Central ministries gave contracts worth Rs 500 crore to 'Big Five' firms

About fifty organisations and 16 departments/ ministries outsourced work to these consultancy firms, which include PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG, along with McKinsey & Company

India likely to close discussions on 2 more IPEF pillars in US next week

According to government officials, the process for domestic approval for signing the supply chain resilience agreement is underway

Auditing the Blue Economy: An oceanic responsibility

In a world where environmental concerns and sustainability have taken centre stage, the concept of the Blue Economy emerges as a captivating notion

Statsguru: Six charts explain challenges for India's 'Vision 2047'

A number of hurdles will have to be overcome to meet these ambitious targets. One of the challenges will be to maintain growth at 9 per cent, required to reach $30 trillion over a 25-year period

Steel expansion plans threatened by scrap metal export restrictions

The country's consumption of ferrous scrap metal will jump 50% to 60 million tons by the end of the decade, and imports will double to about 20 million tons, it estimates

India's October manufacturing PMI slips to 55.5, lowest in eight months

The hiring activity and business confidence slipped to a five-month low in October, said S&P Global

Key infra sector growth slows down to 4-month low of 8.1% in September

The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 8.1 per cent in September 2023 against 8.3 per cent recorded a year ago, according to the official data released on Tuesday. Crude oil output dipped by 0.4 per cent in September as against a contraction of 2.3 per cent in the same month last year. The core sector growth in August was 12.5 per cent. The output growth of the eight sectors was also lower at 7.8 per cent in April-September 2023-24 against 9.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

Vision plan to become $30 trn economy by 2047 in works: NITI Aayog CEO

NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam on Sunday said a vision document is being prepared for India to become a developed economy of about USD 30 trillion by 2047. The vision document will outline the institutional and structural changes/ reforms that will be needed for the country to become a developed nation by 2047. The draft Vision India @2047 will be ready by December 2023 and it will be presented before the country in the next three months, he said. "A vision plan is being prepared for India to become a developed economy of about USD 30 trillion (USD 29.2 trillion) by 2047... the whole purpose of the vision document is to avoid the middle-income trap," he told reporters here. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the middle-income trap captures a situation where a middle-income country can no longer compete internationally in standardized, labor-intensive goods because wages are relatively too high, but it also cannot compete in higher value-added activities on a broad enou