Category: TRENDS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONT

About one in four emerging nations that owe debt payments in hard currencies such as dollars or euros now see their bonds categorized as “distressed,” according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Distressed” means that the bonds’ yields are at least ten percentage points above the yields of U.S. treasury securities. When interest rates were...

To cope with the global economic crisis sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine and resulting sanctions, the World Bank is putting together an aid fund larger than the one it assembled to deal with COVID’s worldwide infestation. The bank is contemplating a $170-billion package that would be disbursed over 15 months. The program would begin...

Although China’s first-quarter economic growth of 4.4 percent this year matched the previous quarter’s expansion, most of that growth took place in January and February. In March, the shutdowns began. As Omicron cases began appearing, China slammed shut city after city, including tech hub Shenzhen and Shanghai, the country’s most populous city and home to...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has again cut its outlook for China’s economic expansion this year as part of its semi-annual Global Economic Outlook report. China’s economy will expand by 4.4 percent this year, the IMF now says.  Last October, the IMF had predicted 5.6 percent growth for China in 2022, then scaled back its...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has scaled back its outlook for the world’s economic expansion this year, whittling its 4.4-percent January forecast to 3.6 percent now amid rising interest rates, unchecked inflation, Russia’s relentless war in Ukraine, and Western sanctions. Last October, the IMF had foreseen global growth in 2022 to be 4.9 percent. The...

Each week, we report instances where the money junky hedge funds, private equity groups and the already big companies swallow another piece of the global economy. Here are some more of what the BIGS have been gobbling up and how the Bigs keep getting bigger and the rich keep getting richer. TWO MAJOR INDIAN LENDERS...

Canada’s government is banning foreigners from buying homes there for the next two years in an attempt to control runaway housing prices.  The government also will provide billions of dollars in construction funds to add more affordable housing stock and introduce legislation to allow Canadians under age 40 to save up to C$40,000 tax-free toward...

General Motors and Honda Motor Co. will collaborate on technology that will underlie a variety of less-expensive electric vehicles (EVs), the companies announced on 5 April. Products will include compact, all-electric sport utility vehicles for China, North, and South America that will be priced under $30,000 and come to market in 2027, they predicted. In...

After suffering through a crisis that nearly toppled the industry, China’s property developers see a starkly different future than their freewheeling past, The Wall Street Journal said on 8 April. Chinese developers have realized that a two-decade boom in housing, commercial, and industrial building has ended, analysts told the WSJ, and the market will worsen...