Recession. Recession. Recession. In Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Taiwan, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Brazil and Russia. They’ve all either had recent recessions, are in deep danger, or have one now. Who’s next?
Not us. We hope. Australia has dodged the recession bullet for 24 years. But economic pessimists abound, predicting bust anytime soon.
A baby boom is a sustained increase and then decrease in the birth rate. The United States, the UK and other industrialized economies have experienced only one such baby boom since 1900 – the one that occurred after World War II.
In addition, many currently developing economies such as India, Pakistan and Thailand have experienced a baby boom since 1950. This is due to a sustained decline in infant and child mortality rates due to improved medicine and sanitation.
Are Japan–China relations on a collision course? The two thorny issues between Japan and China are history and security. Despite these problems, there is a case for cautious optimism for the time being.
Another year of presidential campaigns, another round of China bashing. In the wake of China’s stock market crash in August 2015, Republican presidential candidates have turned their attention towards China. Citing China’s ‘active manipulation’ of its economy as contributing to its own ‘Black Monday’, candidate Scott Walker demanded US President Barack Obama cancel Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visit.
Eurozone economies saw a modest resurgence of growth in the second quarter, but mounting tensions over migrant inflows are steering political focus away from growth.
Exports and consumer spending helped drive European growth higher, according to new statistics from Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics office. Household consumption rose 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015, while growth in the same period rose 0.3% throughout Europe.
After months of hinting at interest rate hikes, many Americans consider the prospect of an increase in the prime rate a certainty. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the world’s largest economies, including the United States, against raising interest rates too soon. According to the IMF, too many risks to global growth remain, and more advanced economies should continue to pursue “growth supportive policies.”
In December 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to government after a snap election. At that time, Abe positioned himself to continue as prime minister for another four years until the end of 2018, giving him the prospect of six years in office since he regained the prime ministership in December 2012. Abe must now face a September 2015 LDP presidential election, but he is likely to remain leader of the LDP, and Japan.
1. China’s reserves fell by almost $94 bln in August. This was a little more than the Bloomberg consensus but not as large as the $200 bln some had suggested. Valuation considerations, often ignored in discussions of Chinese reserves, did not appear to be a key factor in the August decline. The euro and yen rose about 2% against the US dollar in August, which would have flattered reserves, which report in dollars. This would have been mitigated to some extent by the decline of sterling (-1.8% and the Australian dollar -2.7%).
Significant legislative and practical challenges in enhancing consumer product safety law remain in many parts of Southeast Asia. But liberalising trade within ASEAN and with its outside trading partners has led to major progress in consumer protection standards.
On 25–27 September, less than 3 weeks from now, heads of state of 192 nations will sign up for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the new global development agenda. Notwithstanding such an important change, poverty eradication will remain the most important goal and Asia expects to continue its dominant role in attaining this goal for the world.
