The U.S. economy grew at an annualised pace of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, beating analysts’ expectations and raising the likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve will end its monetary easing programme sooner rather than later.
The better-than-expected report was almost twice as fast as many economists had predicted due to the impact of federal spending cuts and also from the continuing weakness in the global economy.
Eager to contain the spike in CO2 emissions, the European Union in 2005 launched an emissions trading scheme which has since been copied by a number of countries, including Australia, South Korea and some Chinese provinces. However, the global financial crisis and subsequent fall in demand and economic activity has caused the price of carbon to plunge to just five euros a tonne, effectively crippling the legitimacy of the world’s largest carbon trading market.
A college education is typically seen a valuable and necessary investment for young adults, but does it pay to have a degree in the new economy?
With unemployment among college graduates at historic highs and outstanding student-loan debt at more than $1 trillion, aspiring college students need to ask themselves whether it is worth borrowing tens of thousands of dollars for a degree, if they are able to graduate on time, and most importantly, if they will earn enough of pay off their loans.
The pace of oil and gas exploration is frightening, and discoveries are weekly, if not daily, with volumes investors would only have dreamt of a decade ago. Most of the discoveries in 2012 were concentrated in East and West Africa, but 2013 is looking to be a good revival year for the players in the Gulf of Mexico.
The worst is likely over for Europe after a prolonged five-year economic contraction and analysts say emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe could be on the verge of a new growth curve.
London-based analysts at Capital Economics on Friday told the AFP that “evidence of a possible turnaround is strongest in emerging Europe, and weakest in emerging Asia.”
In the coming years, China’s leadership will need to increase its reliance on financial services for consumption-led growth. However, plans to develop Shanghai as a free-trade zone should not be seen as a threat to Hong Kong’s prosperity and future, but rather a signal to meet new economic challenges on the Mainland.
Hong Kong’s challenge is not China’s economic rise, Shanghai’s free-trade zone, or even the mainland’s impending financial reforms. These are all new opportunities.
China has ordered an urgent nationwide audit of all government debt, underlining fears that heavy borrowing by local governments might pose a broader systemic threat to the world’s second largest economy.
In a one-line statement issued on Sunday, China’s National Audit Office said it had been instructed by the State Council, China’s cabinet, to carry out an examination of total government debt.
According to the official People’s Daily, citing unidentified sources, the urgent order for the audit was issued on Friday and work will begin this week.
This week: The U.S. FOMC chairs a two-day policy meeting; Greece implements a temporary tax cut on food and services to boost consumption levels; EU embargo against the supply of arms to Syria is partially lifted; The new Iranian president Hassan Rohani takes office.
Monday, July 29
At the core of the Japan problem is the need to lift potential, efficiency and productivity in an economy that has a shrinking population and workforce. Migration is seen as central to overall reform efforts because it offers a way towards socioeconomic rejuvenation and effective participation in the global economy.
The mainstream debate on China has shifted from forecasts of how quickly China will overtake the United States to considerations of what the consequences of a Chinese crash would be. Following weeks of financial drama and weak economic data, the signs are now unmistakable: China is in big trouble, and the problems in its economy are deeper and even more fundamental than previously thought.
