The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is preparing to meet in Paris on Wednesday, and anti-corruption groups have taken the opportunity to raise their concerns.
Economic growth is weakening in America as consumers have less money to buy things, causing retail sales and prices to fall.
The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow model has revised downwards its 1st quarter GDP growth expectations, down from 2.2% to 1.9%, driven by weak retail sales in the United States. The GDPNow has been more accurate, and less optimistic, in predicting economic growth by using a large data set of various economic metrics, whereas the Federal Reserve’s chairs have been significantly more cheerful about America’s prospects.
Burundi’s violence has increased since President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third-term election, causing the European Union to suspend direct financial assistance to the government, according to AFP. The government will no longer receive assistance, but the EU will lend financial aid to Burundi’s population for humanitarian purposes. Hundreds of people have been killed since Nkurunziza won another term in July 2015, and over 240,000 people have fled the country.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Indonesia’s economy should grow at a slightly faster rate in 2016 after slowing for several years. The growth comes because of higher public investment and improving sentiments around the world toward the Southeast Asian nation’s economy, the largest in the region.
After two weeks of recovery, the Chinese yuan is expected to fall after further data shows Asia’s largest economy continues to slow. Production in China’s industrial sector rose just 5.4% in the first two months of 2016, a disappointment that has led many analysts to warn that the country’s new sub-7% GDP growth target is still too optimistic.
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow’s administration is on the line as low oil prices and a Russian recession drags down the economy. The oil sector in particular is plagued with corruption, and the nation’s inefficient weather prediction system affects such vital sectors as agriculture and transportation. Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia and is bordered by such nations as Iran, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
The World Bank has recently released its Macroeconomic Outlook, 2015. In the report, the World Bank predicts strong growth for Pakistan for the next two years. That growth includes steady expansion with low inflation supported by an improving external position and strong new fiscal policies.
Expectations of corporate bankruptcies and debt defaults have skyrocketed, with America’s companies struggling to stay afloat.
Credit research firm, Fitch Ratings, has increased its high yield bond default prediction for 2016 by 33%, now saying that the high yield bond market, also known as the “junk bond” market, will see default rates of 6%, significantly higher than the historical average and about 300% higher than in 2015.
While most parents caution their children that it is important to get all of their vitamins and minerals, few probably realize the important role that advice can play in a nation’s economy. According to a World Bank Specialist on Welfare Economics (Professor Foluso Okunmadewa), Nigeria loses an estimate $1.5 billion from its gross domestic product (GDP) each year due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
People are spending more on services and less jobless claims hint at a recovering American labor market. Initial weekly jobless claims fell from 18,000 to 259,000, far below expectations of a 5,000 drop to 272,000. Continuing claims also fell slightly, as 2.225 million unemployed workers in the United States continue to request help, as they cannot find work. Initial claims fell to the lowest point since October 2015, after several weeks of broad increases. The 4-week moving average for initial claims fell to 267,500.
