With their country facing an extended period of economic uncertainty, well-off Chinese are sneaking cash out of the country with the help of people they have never met or even spoken to, using a system known as hawala.
Category: 10 October 2023
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SPOTLIGHT, TOP TREND 2023: OFFICE BUILDING BUST
The proportion of office workers returning to central offices at least some days each week rose last month to its largest since February 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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WTO HALVES ITS PREDICTION FOR GLOBAL TRADE GROWTH THIS YEAR
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has cut its forecast for world trade growth by 50 percent this year amid a worldwide slowdown in manufacturing.
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GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
In recent times, the economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that have profoundly affected the business community. Some of the most significant challenges include soaring inflation rates, escalating interest rates, looming fears of a recession, and a tangible decrease in revenues for many sectors…all made worse by the COVID War which destroyed the lives and livelihoods of billions across the globe.
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WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS JOBS GO WITH IT
As we note in this Trends Journal, while the report from the U.S. Labor Department showed a sharp increase in jobs last month, most of them were in the low paying hospitality, service, health and social services sectors.
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U.S. MEGABANKS PAY $53 MILLION IN FINES FOR MISREPORTING MILLIONS OF TRADES
On 29 September, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase a collective total of $53 million after the banks “failed to report, or failed to correctly report, more than 40 million swap transactions,” the CFTC said.
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PARCEL CARRIERS OFFER DISCOUNTS IN WEAK HOLIDAY SALES SEASON
Fedex and UPS are offering discounts to bulk customers such as Amazon and other retailers to ease the pain of what is expected to be a weak holiday sales season, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AT RECORD LOW, NAR REPORTS
In July, the ability of a family with a median income to afford to buy a home selling for the median price sank to its lowest since 1989, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) housing affordability index.
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U.S. MORTGAGE INTEREST RATE HIGHEST IN 23 YEARS, APPLICATIONS CRASH
During the week ending 29 September, the average U.S. interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage surpassed 7.5 percent for the time since November 2000, plunging applications for new and refinanced home loans to their fewest since 1996, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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HIGHER INTEREST RATES CUT DOWN CONSUMER BORROWING
Americans reduced their outstanding non-revolving debt, such as auto and student loans, by $30.3 billion in August, according to U.S. Federal Reserve data. The figure represents a 9.8-percent reduction over the previous 12 months.