Markets Archives - Page 465 of 782

Spending Bill Passes as GDP Growth Slides

The United States Senate has increased the country’s debt ceiling and avoided a default while nationwide growth remains positive, but lower than previous readings.

GDP growth fell to 1.5% in the third quarter from 3.9% in the second quarter, a slight disappointment from 1.6% growth estimates. While still positive, the sharp deceleration in economic growth suggests that the ongoing economic recovery in the United States is not as strong as some economists had previously predicted, and may indicate the beginning of a slowdown that leads to a recession.

Allowing a Second Child Ends an Unpopular Policy

China is scrapping its one-child policy and officially allowing all couples to have two children. While some may think this heralds an overnight switch, the reality is that it is far less dramatic. This is, in fact, merely the latest in an array of piecemeal national and local reforms implemented since 1984.

In fact, the change is really a very pragmatic response to an unpopular policy that no longer made any sense. In addition, much like the introduction of the policy in 1978, it will have little impact on the country’s population level.

India’s BJP Seems to Miss Golden Opportunities

There has been a saying in India of late: ‘India never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity’. This is in stark contrast to the Chinese aphorism that President Xi Jinping referred to while addressing the British parliament in October: ‘An opportunity missed is an opportunity lost’. No one would deny that India has great potential. However, over the last three decades there has been a sense that it has failed to fulfil this.

Can China’s GDP Per Capita Grow Amid an Economic Slowdown?

As China’s growth is decelerating, Chinese purchasing power is accelerating. The next five-year plan will boost the change.

Only a few years ago, China still enjoyed double-digit growth. According to third-quarter data, the Chinese economy grew 6.9 percent year-on-year.

As a result, some observers have concluded that the Chinese economy is in trouble, Chinese consumers are hunkering down and the next five-year plan must be dead on arrival.

India Jumps 12 Spots in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings

Almost every nation covets a higher spot on the World Bank’s ease of doing business list. Higher ratings represent the capacity to attract and maintain foreign investors and the resulting economic boost they bring with them. This year, India has done the nearly unthinkable, jumping 12 spots up the rankings from 189 to 130.

SOE Reforms in China Go the Communist Party’s Way

After much internal wrangling, China’s State Council and Communist Party Central Committee have released new guidelines for reforming state-owned enterprises (SOEs). China’s economic reform is setup to balance less formal state interference with more informal Party influence. To the delight of technocrats, the new SOE guidelines draw heavily on modern corporate governance principles that are designed to insulate business management from administrative meddling.

Secession Talks in Johor Rattle Malaysia

The Irish poet WB Yeats was not thinking about Southeast Asia when he wrote ‘things fall apart; the centre cannot hold’, but his words may accurately describe the situation in Malaysia. The monarchy governing the state of Johor is rattling the federation agreement and talking of secession. Sarawak wants significant devolution. In addition, Sabah is gearing up for the same demand.

So is secession a real possibility? In addition, why has the issue of federalism suddenly emerged after half a century of relative calm?

More Ammunition for an Australian Monetary Policy Change

It was a close call. After Australia’s leading banks lifted the variable rate mortgage rates recently, many observers expected the Reserve Bank of Australia to offset the tightening with a rate cut in early November. Others emphasized that the variable rate increases were linked to regulatory changes not to financial conditions that the RBA could influence.

Today’s inflation report swung sentiment toward a rate cut next week. It appears that the derivatives market is pricing in about an 80% chance of a 25 bp rate cut.

In Australia, Asylum Seekers’ Employment Opportunities are Elusive

By the time I met Grace, she had been in Australia on a bridging visa for about 18 months. Part way into the interview, she reached for a stack of papers in her bag. “Let me show you something… this is from the bank,” she said. On her account statement, Grace showed me the recurring payments she was receiving from a non-profit agency that was disbursing basic living allowances to asylum seekers living in the community. She was receiving about A$450 per fortnight.

How Will Proposed Tax Credit Cuts Help Britain’s Hardest Workers?

The House of Lords has voted to delay the government’s plans to cut tax credits. The cuts form a significant component (more than a third) of the Conservative government’s plans to reduce the UK’s welfare bill by £12 billion. However, George Osborne failed to sufficiently make the case to the upper house that they were part of a wider plan to create an economy that rewards “hard-working people.”