Page 10 - Global Economy

China's services activity growth momentum softens in Feb: Caixin PMI

Despite robust activity during the eight-day Lunar New Year holidays, the expansion rate of new business was little-changed from January, the Caixin survey showed

Amid tensions, Iran to elect parliamentary, religious leaders today

Iranians are bracing for a pivotal moment as they prepare to cast their votes on Friday in parliamentary elections that will elect religious leaders, Al Jazeera reported.

Q3 GDP may slide to 6.7-6.9% on poor farm sector show: SBI Research

The Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.7-6.9 per cent in December quarter FY24 as compared to 7.6 per cent growth in the second quarter on poor performance in the farm sector, a report by SBI Research said on Wednesday. The report comes a day ahead of the release of official GDP data for the third quarter of 2023-24 financial year. India retained the tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy, with its GDP expanding by a faster-than-expected rate of 7.6 per cent in September quarter on booster shots from government spending and manufacturing. The 6.7-6.9 per cent growth forecast by SBI Research is lower than the Reserve Bank's 7 per cent growth projection for the quarter. SBI Research has projected Q4 GDP at 6.8 per cent. SBI Research said the biggest reason for the lower growth forecast is the very poor show by the farm sector as, barring fisheries, the whole sector is badly affected. As per the first advance estimates, the production of major kharif crops in 2023-24 is

Pakistan's new govt will prioritise 'fixing' economy: Nawaz Sharif

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the priority of the upcoming government led by his party will be to "fix" the ailing economy as all the problems plaguing the cash-strapped nation were linked to the economic woes. The government will try to fix the economy which would in turn fix everything, Sharif, the supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) told the media after arriving at the Parliament House for the first time since the February 8 elections. Sharif, who surprisingly nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif to be the prime minister of a coalition government, also said that he wishes every National Assembly, Senate and Prime Minister to complete their constitutional term. No prime minister in coup-prone Pakistan has completed his/her five-year term. Sharif became prime minister thrice but was removed on all three occasions in mid-term. Earlier, he was welcomed by prime minister candidate Shehbaz Sharif and other members of his

World economy has growing chance of pulling off soft landing: G20

The statement reflects a relatively upbeat view of a global economy that's struggled in recent years to overcome the impact of the pandemic, soaring inflation and a sharp increase in interest rates

Govt expresses concerns in WTO meet over unilateral protectionist measures

India on Monday expressed "serious" concerns in a WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi over increase in the use of trade protectionist measures by certain countries in the name of environment protection. The remarks assume significance as the country has earlier flagged issues over the European Union's (EU) decision to impose carbon tax (a kind of import tax) on sectors such as steel and fertiliser; and adoption of deforestation regulation by the 27-nation bloc. Speaking at a session on sustainable development and policy space for industrialisation, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said developing countries require flexibility in the existing WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements to overcome the constraints faced by them in their industrialisation. He also expressed concerns on the concerted attempt by the developed countries to club long-standing development issues like policy space for industrial development with new issues of 'Trade and Industrial policy'. The CBAM (Carbon Border ...

Global economy weighed down by war, uncertainty & instability: WTO chief

The head of the World Trade Organisation warned on Monday that war, uncertainty and instability are weighing down the global economy and urged the bloc to embrace reform as elections across nearly half the world's population could bring new challenges. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to offer some praise for her organisation as it held its binneial meeting in the United Arab Emirates, even as it faces pressure from the United States and other nations. But she was blunt about the risks ahead, as higher prices for food, energy and other essentials sting people's pockets, fuelling political frustration. People everywhere are feeling anxious about the future and this will be felt at the ballot box this year, she said. None are perhaps more critical for the WTO than the US presidential election on November 5. Running again is former President Donald Trump, who threatened to withdraw the US from the WTO and repeatedly levied tariffs taxes on imported goods on perceived

Private capital yet to embrace energy transition, says CEA Nageswaran

While urging multilateral development banks to act on the recommendations of the independent expert group under India's Group of Twenty (G20) presidency to mobilise private capital, the CEA added

The Nato conundrum

A possible Trump presidency is bad news

German economy in 'troubled waters', govt cuts its growth forecast

The German government said Europe's largest economy was in troubled waters and slashed its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labour, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects while a relatively modest set of tax breaks for business remains blocked in the legislature. The growth forecast was lowered to 0.2% from the previous forecast from last fall of 1.3%. That would follow a shrinking of the economy by 0.3% for all of last year. Germany is recovering more slowly than we hoped from the shock of Russia cutting off most supplies of natural gas after its invasion of Ukraine, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said as he presented the government's annual economic report. The economy is in troubled waters. The loss of Russian gas in Germany led to a spike in energy costs that hammered energy intensive industries and contributed to high consumer inflation that eroded purchasing power and made consumers more reluctant t

Canada's rate of inflation slows, boosts bets on early interest rate cut

The January inflation figure "will certainly raise the odds on an April rate cut," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay

'US-India alliance for women's economic empowerment being revitalised'

An alliance between the US and India that seeks to facilitate women's economic participation in India by catalysing commitments from private sector, civil society and government leaders in both countries is being revitalised, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday. The US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment will work across the board to harness the resources of the private sector and NGOs to foster commitments for women's retention, and stem employment and entrepreneurship, Deputy Chief of Mission in India Patricia A Lacina said. She was delivering the keynote address at the WEConnect International Empowering Inclusion-Advancing Value Chains Summit 2024. "...we are revitalising the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment. A public-private partnership to enhance mentorship," she said. Last year, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the George Washington University .

Rate cut bets not unreasonable but economy is picking up: BoE's Bailey

"The market is essentially embodying in the curve that we will reduce interest rates during the course of this year," Bailey told lawmakers on the Treasury Select Committee

Goldman Sachs pushes BoE interest rate-cut forecast to June from May

Despite data showing signs of cooling in inflation, the central bank remains cautious in its approach due to persistent wage increases and a tight labor market

China's Premier Li Qiang urges 'forceful' action to boost confidence

Chinese leaders are hunting for ways to jump-start the economy, which faces headwinds from a property slump, weak business confidence and persistent deflationary pressures

8 sub-committees reviewing free trade agreement between India, Asean

Eight sub-committees have been constituted under the India-Asean free trade agreement joint committee for undertaking negotiations on different areas related to the review of the pact, an official statement said on Monday. India hosted the third meeting of the committee for undertaking the review here from February 16-19. The AITIGA (Asean-India trade in goods agreement) was signed in 2009. In September 2022, both sides tasked the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review to make the agreement more trade facilitative and mutually beneficial. "A total of eight sub-committees have been constituted under the AITIGA Joint Committee for undertaking negotiations on different policy areas related to the agreement," the commerce ministry said. The first two meetings of the joint committee were held in May and August last year. In the meeting, the ministry said, the sub-committees reported the progress and outcome of their discussions related to market access, rules of origin and ...

Ship attacked in Gulf of Aden at risk of sinking, say Yemen's Houthis

The Iran-aligned Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes since November in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, drawing US and British bombing against them

China asks Pakistan's political parties to work together to form govt

Beijing is also bankrolling Pakistan, which is in the throes of an economic crisis, to maintain the balance of payments with periodic loans to maintain the requisite forex reserves

Goldman raises global equities to 'overweight' on economic growth prospects

"We expect growth to become a more important driver of risk appetite and equity/bond correlations should be more negative this year," Goldman said in a note dated Feb 16

TN fiscal deficit at 3.44% in FY25, growth anticipated: State finance secy

Tamil Nadu's fiscal deficit in the Budget Estimates for 2024-25 stood at 3.44 per cent of the GSDP despite a decline in the State's Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) due to two successive natural calamities in December 2023 resulting in additional expenditure, State Principal Secretary-Finance T Udhayachandran said on Monday. The SOTR suffered a revenue loss due to cyclone Michaung and unprecedented rains in the southern districts. The state government had to spend more on flood relief, provide immediate relief measures besides initiate long-term relief measures, he said. "This budget has been prepared under this financial stress...Nevertheless, Tamil Nadu's economy is robust. We expect a 15 per cent growth in our SOTR through the Commercial Taxes Department," Udhayachandran told reporters here. The Registration department did not see the expected growth last year but next year the government hoped that it would fetch more revenue to the state, he added. Briefing the media on the Budget ...