The Lastest Macroeconomic News
26.05.2016 14:02 Russia Taps Global Credit Markets
Russia on Tuesday tapped international debt markets for the first time since the West applied sanctions two years ago in a move officials touted as a vote of confidence in the country`s financial health. But Moscow raised just over half of the amount expected as a number of global portfolio managers didn`t participate in the bond sale, citing concerns about compliance and issues over the settlement of the bonds. Russia`s finance ministry said it sold $1.75 billion of so-called Eurobonds amid demand of $7 billion. The Russian government`s borrowing plan envisages raising $3 billion in global markets this year to help cover a budget shortfall caused by weak prices for crude oil, Russia`s main export and a large source of state revenue. The bonds were sold to yield 4.75% after initial indications of 4.65% to 4.9%. More than 70% of the bond was purchased by foreign investors, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. “This is the group we focused on,” Mr. Siluanov said. “We are satisfied with the placement.” Large global banks, unwilling to irk U.S. and European authorities that have sanctioned Russia over its annexation of Crimea and intervention in Ukraine, declined to participate as underwriters of the offering. VTB Capital, the investment arm of Russia`s No. 2 state-owned lender VTB Group, which came under sanctions, was the sole organizer of the bond.
25.05.2016 12:23 Russia`s economy will return to growth by end of 2016
Russia`s economy will return to growth by the end of 2016, Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said at a meeting with representatives of business community of Slovakia. "We expect that in the end of the second quarter we will return to growth and in general we expect that by the end of the year the dynamics of GDP will be about zero," he said. Earlier TASS reported referring to the documents for the meeting of the Economic Council under the Russian President, the Economic Development Ministry states stagnation of the Russian economy but believe that the decline is largely over, and the economic cycle is close to the lowest point. The ministry marks signs of recovery in the Russian economy, and expects that it will continue in the medium term. According to the Federal Statistics Service, in the first quarter Russian GDP decline by 1.2%. The Economic Development Ministry predicts GDP decline of 0.2% by the end of the year. Ulyukayev said Russia`s GDP fell 0.7% in April 2016.
23.05.2016 14:40 G7 warns over global economy as currency row flares
G7 finance ministers on Saturday (May 21) voiced concern about the sputtering global economy as they looked for a plan to stoke growth, while a currency policy clash overshadowed their meetings. The club of rich nations also pledged to tackle tax avoidance in the wake of the Panama Papers investigation and beef up efforts to disrupt the murky world of terrorism financing. Two days of talks at a hot spring resort in northern Japan focused on how to stoke global growth which they said was under threat from myriad challenges, including terrorism, refugee flows and the threat of Britain`s exit from the European Union. The ministers were unanimous in opposing the prospect of a "Brexit", saying it would inflict a "shock" on the global economy that would only worsen the outlook at a time of geopolitical instability.
19.05.2016 11:28 Kazakhstan`s Doing Well, now about those Public Finances
As a highly globally integrated, resource-rich, upper-middle income country, Kazakhstan has been facing significant challenges in the current global environment. Kazakhstan`s major challenges include managing its public finances to preserve fiscal stability and generating broad-based economic growth. According to the World Trade Organization, Kazakhstan`s total trade to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was 69% in 2014, with per capita trade of $8,720. It exhibited a relatively large surplus of $37 billion on merchandise trade, with nearly nine-tenths of the exports under the “fuels and mining” category, of which about three-fourths were destined for the European Union. In contrast, little over four-fifths of its imports were in the “manufacturers” category, with the Russian Federation accounting for one-third, and the European Union accounting for around one-fifth of the total imports. In 2014, Kazakhstan had a service trade deficit of $6.3 billion. This suggests that while Kazakhstan is highly integrated globally, its trade profile lacks diversification, and it is vulnerable to slowdowns in oil and metal cycles, as is currently being experienced globally.
17.05.2016 21:06 UN: Weak world economic growth lingers, with only modest improvement seen
With little prospects for a turnaround in 2016, growth in the world economy remains weak, posing a challenge to the implementation of development targets, a new United Nations report has found. According to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2016 report, launched today at UN Headquarters in New York by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, world gross product will grow by just 2.4 per cent in 2016, the same pace as in 2015, marking a downward revision of 0.5 percentage points from UN forecasts released in December 2015. “The report underscores the need for a more balanced policy mix to rejuvenate global growth and create an enabling environment to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in a said. Specifically, the report found that persistent weakness in aggregate demand in developed economies remains a drag on global growth, while low commodity prices, mounting fiscal and current account imbalances and policy tightening have further dampened prospects for many commodity-exporting economies in Africa, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Latin America and the Caribbean. This has been compounded by severe weather-related shocks, political challenges and large capital outflows in many developing regions.
17.05.2016 11:36 Kazakhstan attracting $1 billion to improve competitiveness of economy
Kazakhstan intends to attract a loan of $1 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD is a part of the World Bank Group). The relevant agreement that was signed Feb. 17 with the IBRD has been ratified by Majlis (lower house of the Kazakh parliament) May 11, Majlis`s press service said. The loan will be used to finance the development policy in macroeconomic management and to increase the competitiveness of Kazakhstan`s economy. The loan will allow to support main priorities of the country`s social and economic development and the implementation of strategic measures of the Kazakh government to stimulate the economy and promote economic growth.
16.05.2016 11:51 China economy eases in April, sparking worries on rebound
China`s investment, factory output and retail sales all grew more slowly than expected in April, adding to doubts about whether the world`s second-largest economy is stabilizing. Growth in factory output cooled to 6 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Saturday, disappointing analysts who expected it to rise to 6.5 percent on an annual basis after an increase of 6.8 percent the prior month. China`s fixed-asset investment growth eased to 10.5 percent year-on-year in the January-April period, missing market expectations of 10.9 percent, and down from the first quarter`s 10.7 percent. Fixed investment by private firms continued to slow, indicating private businesses remain skeptical of economic prospects. Investment by private firms rose 5.2 percent year-on-year in January-April, down from 5.7 percent growth in the first quarter.
13.05.2016 14:13 Eurozone GDP grew worse than expected, Germany`s GDP growth jumped past forecasts
European statistics agency Eurostat said the single currency union`s economy grew 0.5% in the first three months of 2016, representing a downward revision from its initial estimate of 0.6%. This meant the Eurozone economy grew 1.5% year-on-year, rather than the 1.6% previously thought. GDP expanded in all of the Eurozone countries which provided data except Greece and Latvia, which shrank by 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. Outside of the bloc, the economies of Hungary and Poland also contracted in the first three months of the year. German economic growth surged at the start of the year, as strength in domestic demand offset weakness in exports amply, but analysts expected growth to settle down going forward. Gross domestic product in the euro area`s largest economy expanded at a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter clip in the first three months of 2016, according to the country`s statistics office. That followed growth of 0.3% in the final quarter of 2015 and was higher than the 0.6% which economists had penciled in. In comparison to a year ago German GDP grew by 1.6%, up from the 1.3% clip seen at the tail-end of 2015.
12.05.2016 11:23 Bank of Canada: World economy faces risks, but growth likely
While the global economy faces a number of risks, including the potential for a shock from China, the most likely scenario is that growth continues, with some headwinds starting to slowly fade, a senior Bank of Canada official said on Wednesday. Nonetheless, the world economy`s potential growth will be lower than it was 10 years ago, partly due to demographic shifts that policy cannot fully address in the short term, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins said. “There are a lot of downside risks, but I would say though that the most likely thing is that the economy is going to keep growing,” Wilkins told a panel. “There`s not the typical inflation pressures you see that would result in very abrupt increases in interest rates and that`s often what triggers downturns.”
10.05.2016 20:09 Russia`s Gloomy Prospects
Russia`s economic prospects are looking increasingly grim. Last year, plunging energy prices and international sanctions contributed to a 3.7% fall in GDP. Real wages in the country plummeted by around 10%. This year, the negative trend is expected to continue. In 2016, public spending on education and health care is slated to decline by 8%. The Kremlin`s desultory attempts at diversifying the Russian economy have largely failed. Labor productivity remains chronically low, and investment - foreign and domestic - has dried up. Sadly, a turnaround is unlikely. Under current conditions, neither higher energy prices nor the lifting of sanctions would likely be enough to reinvigorate the country`s moribund economy.