Venezuela has been economically embattled for some time, and the future does not appear any brighter. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that the nation’s inflation rate will spike somewhere between 750% and 1200%.
Manufacturing in the United States has turned significantly weaker, hitting its lowest point since 2009. In May, manufacturing activity fell because of weak new order growth and poor inventories.
Armenia is losing credibility among foreign investors as high debt and mismanagement scare away members of the business community, according to AzerNews. Armenia relies on foreign investment, Russian remittances, and loans to sustain the economy, but authorities squandered most of the loan money, and investment projects have failed to spur economic growth thus far. Armenia is a poor nation that struggles with high rural poverty and increasing unemployment rates.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fears that Canadian home sales may be ramping up to a bubble. According to the OECD, the Canadian government needs to cool off the overheating housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver.
Otherwise, external economic hardships coupled with favorable buying conditions could cause real estate prices to increase disproportionately, create a bubble, and then devastate the Canadian economy when it bursts.
French economic growth impressed economists, who were expecting weakness alongside poor growth in America. France’s economy, however, saw a 0.6% growth in GDP in the first quarter, according to new a report by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The strong growth was partly attributed to improved trade thanks to a stronger U.S. dollar, which has made French exports more attractive to consumers at home and abroad.
Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh claimed that the international community is responsible for enticing tens of thousands of Eritreans out of the country through asylum offers. He conceded that Eritrea’s poor economy is the primary reason behind the migration, but he also believes that world powers aim to destabilize Eritrea. The East African country is one of the poorest on the planet.
Mexico surprised many analysts last week when it opted to increase financing it already had with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increasing its loans by one third to $88 billion, and extending its term by another two years. The move suggests to many analysts that Mexico is feeling jittery about the prospects of a Trump administration in the United States’ White House and the possible implications of Britain’s possible exit from the European Union.
Investors are reconsidering earlier expectations that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates in June. After several speeches from regional Fed presidents strongly suggesting a rate hike was imminent, Federal Reserve president Janet Yellen struck a more conservative tone late last week, hinting that the Fed might wait a little longer before raising interest rates.
President Muhammadu Buhari intends to meet with representatives in the oil-bearing Niger Delta as militants destroy pipelines, according to International Business Times. People in the region have long complained that foreign oil companies pollute the environment and offer little economic benefits to locals.
The Niger Delta comprises of over 7.0% of Nigeria’s landmass, with many ethnic groups inhabiting the region.
Greece is currently suffering through one of the direst economic crises of any industrialized nation in history. Now, the nation finds itself at the heart of a policy struggle between Eurozone lenders and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over debt reductions prior to additional bailout funding. This has led to the IMF’s revision of its long-term projections for the embattled nation.
