Indicators of weakening conditions in the United Kingdom are alarming economists, who believe the country’s reliance on rising housing prices may be setting the country up for an economic collapse.
A new survey of businesses in the United Kingdom shows that corporations are seeing weaker confidence and investment, both of which have fallen to “a low ebb.”
The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently released its “World Trade 2016 and Prospects 2016” report. In it, the only nation to achieve “impressive” import-export growth in 2015 was a surprising Southeast Asian nation: Vietnam.
The report analyzed the performance of 30 of the leading import-export economies of the world that are members of the WTO. None of the other nations reviewed showed results for import-export growth last year that were as high as Vietnam’s.
Keiko Fujimori, daughter of jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori, may have won the first round of voting, but faces a June runoff, according to the Associated Press. Officials have counted over 20% of the vote, with businessman Pedro Kuczynski coming in second and Congresswoman Veronika Mendoza landing third place. The full results are expected to be announced on Monday.
Fighting increasingly worrying data about the American economy, the Federal Reserve has made a plea to the world to remain calm. A historically unprecedented presentation by the last four Federal Reserve chairmen—Janet Yellen, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and Paul Volcker—focused on how the economy remains on a “solid course,” despite increasing evidence that a recession might be looming.
The phrase comes from standing Chair Yellen, who added that the U.S. has made “tremendous progress” from the financial crisis of 2008.
While the overall financial performance of the world’s economy is not as poor as it was in 2008, the World Bank’s rate of lending is almost as high as it was in those darker days. As a result, finance ministers and central bankers from around the globe will meet in Washington this week for the spring World Bank / International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring conference.
In another sign of slow growth and weak demand, mortgage rates fell to their lowest point this year as Treasury yields fell to almost their lowest rate in history. U.S. Treasuries fell to less than 1.7% during Thursday trading, nearing the all-time low achieved earlier this year of 1.64%.
Spain’s Socialist Party is seeking a three-way alliance with Ciudadanos, a pro-business party, and Podemos, an anti-austerity party, but Ciudadanos remains hesitant due to political differences, according to Bloomberg. Spain’s parliament must form a ruling coalition by May 2; otherwise, Spain will commence another election. Spain’s Conservative party lost many allies during the December 2015 elections, and the Socialists intend to reach across the aisle to gain ruling status.
Panama, the nation at the center of a global financial scandal, has vowed to deepen its ties to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order to create greater transparency and avoid future such scandals. The nation will seek to provide greater tax regulation in line with the OECD’s guidelines, offering enhanced openness and fewer incentives for tax evaders from other countries.
The Federal Reserve has fully reversed course, indicating that interest rate increases are likely to come later rather than sooner, as weak economic growth plagues the United States. Recently released Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes point to the central bank’s hesitance to raise borrowing costs for Americans due to protracted weakness throughout the broad economy.
Central bank governor John Mangudya urged Zimbabweans to limit cash usage as the nation’s cash shortage grew worse this week, according to New Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe discarded its defunct currency in 2009 in response to hyperinflation, and additional provisions prevented the central bank from printing the Zimbabwe dollar.
Zimbabwe switched to the U.S. dollar as one of its main currencies, but the economy is running out of American dollars. In response to the cash crunch, the government has limited bank withdraws and shut down some ATMs.
