The Lastest Macroeconomic News
06.08.2017 13:01 Global economy teeters on the brink of trade war
Earlier this year, both China`s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin thought they`d be able to reach a tolerable - perhaps even cordial - working relationship with US President Donald Trump. Instead, the global economy is teetering on the brink of a bitter and damaging trade war, as Washington has moved to impose tough economic sanctions on Moscow, while flagging its intention to take a much more aggressive stance with Beijing. Tensions between Washington and Moscow have spiralled after Trump reluctantly signed a bill that imposes new sanctions on Russia to punish the Kremlin for its alleged meddling in the 2016 election. Although Trump criticised the legislation as "seriously flawed", he had little option but to sign the bill after it had received overwhelming bipartisan and veto-proof support in US Congress. Even before he signed it, the Kremlin had retaliated by ordering the US to reduce its embassy staff numbers in Russia by 755 people and by seizing two US diplomatic properties. The new sanctions are mainly economic, and target the Russian energy sector.
03.08.2017 16:48 Why Europe Doesn`t Like America`s New Russia Sanctions
The U.S. is facing international backlash over newly proposed sanctions on Russia, with a prominent German official casting the restrictions as illegal and Moscow ordering the dismissal of hundreds of diplomatic staffers from American posts. Brigitte Zypries, head of Germany`s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, told local press in comments published Monday that sanctions expected to hurt European business interests in Russia are seen as "against international law, plain and simple." "Americans cannot punish German companies because they [do business] in another country," she said. Zypries went on to say she thinks the European Commission should look into taking countermeasures against the U.S. “Europe is ready to adopt short-term countermeasures - in other parts of the world, too,” she said.
01.08.2017 13:14 4 Financial Components to Improved Russian Relations
With the U.S. preparing to confront China and go to war with North Korea, Russia is an indispensable ally for the U.S. There are huge implications on capital markets as these hegemonic powers continue to edge toward war. Here`s an overview of some of the financial implications of improved relations with Russia… 1: The End of OPEC and the Rise of the Tripartite Alliance. 2: Improved U.S. Relations with Russia and Sanctions Relief. 3: Watch Russia`s “Gold-to-GDP” Ratio. 4: Russian Relations and Blockchain Technology Will Challenge U.S. Dollar Dominance.
27.07.2017 15:09 Russia`s economic growth may exceed 2 percent in 2017
Russia`s economy growth accelerated in the second quarter of 2017 and is likely to exceed 2 percent for the entire year, Russian Economic Development Ministry said Wednesday. "The Russian GDP, according to our estimates, grew in the second quarter by approximately 2.7 percent year-on-year. We estimate the economy growth in the first half of the year at 1.6 percent," Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin was cited by Sputnik news agency as saying. Based on the encouraging performance of the past quarter, Oreshkin said the ministry`s previous two-percent forecast for economic growth this year now "seems a little conservative." "We expect further strengthening of positive tendencies in the economy this fall," Oreshkin said, highlighting the gradual recovery of wages and income.
24.07.2017 23:19 IMF downgrades UK growth while European rivals surge
The International Monetary Fund has lowered its growth forecast for the UK to 1.7% for 2017. The organisation said a weaker-than-expected performance meant it was revising expectations from the 2% it predicted in April. The US also had its economic forecast downgraded to 2.1% from 2.3%. It comes in contrast to major European countries including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, where growth exceeded expectations. Germany has been revised up by 0.2 points to 1.8%, France by 0.1 points to 1.5%, while Italy and Spain have both been revised up by 0.5 points to 1.3% and 3.1% respectively. The IMF`s prediction that the global economy will grow by 3.5% in 2017 and 3.6% in 2018 remains unchanged, driven largely by China, Japan and the EU.
21.07.2017 11:41 Russia-US trade up 21.25%
Trade between the two countries increased from US$7.53bn to US$9.13bn for January to May, when compared to the same period last year, according to a WorldCity analysis of latest US Census Bureau data. According to Russia`s Federal Customs Service, as reported by Sputnik, trade between the two countries was up 24.6% to US$8.7bn for the period. WorldCity data reports US exports to Russia decreased 0.06% while imports from Russia rose 31.39%, resulting in a US deficit of US$4.27bn with Russia. Russia ranked number 30 among the US` top trade partners for the period, up two places from 32 for the same period last year.
18.07.2017 12:25 China`s GDP growth beats expectations
China is now comfortably on track to meet its growth targets after the country reported GDP growth of 6.9 percent in the second quarter of 2017, compared with the previous year. The figure beat analyst expectations, and sets China on the path to post its first year-on-year acceleration of growth since 2010. As reported by the Financial Times, China`s GDP growth last year was 6.7 percent, while the government is targeting a full-year growth rate of around 6.5 percent for this year. The string of growth will set the groundwork for the government to tackle economic challenges ahead of the re-selection of China`s Central Committee later this year. Overall, the surge over analyst expectations was driven by three main factors. As reported by Bloomberg, industrial output rose by 7.6 percent from a year earlier after it was estimated it would only grow by 6.5 percent. Property also performed strongly, with fixed-asset investment climbing 8.6 percent in the first half of the year. Retail was another bright sport, jumping by 11 percent from a year earlier.
14.07.2017 11:32 Russian central banker praises normal interest rates and gives outlook for oil prices
The head of Russia`s central bank applauded the U.S. Federal Reserve`s moves toward higher, more historically "normal" interest rates, and called on other central banks to follow suit. At the same time, Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Central Bank of Russia, underscored on Thursday that Russia will continue to ease its own rates. Russian interest rates remain stubbornly high at 9 percent. "Of course I welcome all the normalization of monetary policy. I think monetary policy should be normal. We try to normalize our policy but it`s the opposite direction - we are now in an easing cycle - but other countries are in a different way," Nabiullina told CNBC. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday in the first of a two-day address to Congress that interest rates in the U.S. are nearing "neutral" and any further policy tightening would be gradual.
11.07.2017 13:19 A green economy is possible, but at what cost?
Some US scientists have recently been conducting a rather heated argument about whether it is possible to have an economy that is powered 100 per cent by renewable (or non-fossil) energy sources. The answer, obviously, is yes. Such economies have previously existed, and not so very long ago. Go back to 17th century Europe, and pretty much all energy production centred on the cultivation of fields, management of woodland and animal husbandry. It meant that a great deal of physical land was needed to support a population a fraction of today`s global billions. The question is not so much whether you could recreate that sort of society. It is really whether you would want to, and that comes down to the issue of acceptable cost. The problem with renewables lies not in whether they do the job, but in their low productivity. According to the Institute for Energy Research, the energy sector accounts for about 9 per cent of global gross domestic product. What that means is that it costs us nearly a tenth of our collective output to produce all the energy needed to run the world economy.
09.07.2017 22:33 The global economy is doing something it hasn`t done in 7 years
All the major economies of the globe and the companies that make them up are picking up steam at the same time right now, the first such simultaneous recovery in years. This is making the phrase "global synchronous recovery" among the favorites of bulls on Wall Street. "We expect all the major markets to report healthy EPS growth in 2017. That`s the first synchronized upturn since 2010," wrote Robert Buckland, chief global equity strategist at Citi Research, in a note Tuesday. "That`s a big change compared to recent years, when we had various regions and countries moving in and out of EPS recessions," he added. Along with earnings growth, the major markets will see decent economic growth this year as well that will carry over into next year, Citi estimates. The research analysts forecast global GDP growth of 3.1 percent this year and 3.3 percent next year.