Category: News Desk

Key Economic News To Watch This Week: August 5


This week: A ban on some Apple products kicks in after a US court rules that it violates rival Samsung’s patents; The trial of former Chinese Politburo official Bo Xilai on charges of corruption and abuse of power may begin as early as Wednesday as China seeks to close the door on the biggest crisis to affect the Communist Party since the killings of democracy activists in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Monday, August 5

Standard Chartered, which has shifted its focus on emerging markets, is expected to announce its second-quarter results.

Infographic: Cold Hard Facts About Money


While we’re so used to the terms savings and debt, do you think you know what money actually is? Facts like: What’s the money made of? How much it costs to produce a currency? How many people have credit cards? This visual provides all sorts of fun facts about the state of cash in 2013.

ECB Keep Rates On Hold As Europe Eyes Recovery


The European Central Bank on Thursday voted to leave borrowing costs in the euro area unchanged at 0.5 percent,  while ECB chief Mario Draghi suggested that interest rates could fall further from their current record lows should the economic outlook for the eurozone deteriorate.

Speaking at a press conference after the policy meeting, Draghi hinted that the ECB’s policy would not be tightened until well into next year at the earliest, unless market data improves significantly.

Uruguay Votes To Legalise Marijuana Sales


Uruguay’s lower House of Representative on Wednesday voted to approve a controversial bill which would – for the first time – put a government in charge of the production, distribution and sale of legal marijuana.

Under the bill, which still has to be approved by the Senate, only the government would assume “the control and regulation of the importation, exportation, plantation, cultivation, the harvest, the production, the acquisition, the storage, the commercialisation and the distribution of cannabis and its by-products”.

US Economy Grows Faster Than Expected At 1.7% In Q2


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.

Infographic: Does It Pay To Have An Education?


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.

Greece To Receive $2.3bn IMF Bailout Payment


The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a further 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in aid payments to Greece after completing a review of the country’s finances, but warned Athens must do more to implement reforms in light of looming shortfalls.

Greece last week adopted the last piece of legislation its international lenders required to release the lastest batch of rescue loans, after two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy.

China Opens Pipeline To Import Gas From Myanmar


China has started importing natural gas from Myanmar, a historic milestone as the world’s largest energy consumer continues to diversify its energy supply routes. While the pipelines are expected to provide only a small proportion of China’s energy needs, they are a vital energy security asset that will reduce Beijing’s reliance on shipping through the narrow choke-point of the Malacca Strait.  

Emerging Europe On Track For Next Growth Curve


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.”

China Plans Nationwide Audit Of Government Debt


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.