Analysts predict a drop in sales for retailers on Black Friday as movements toward online shopping and weariness with the sales add pressure. Several analysts at numerous Wall Street firms have released reports warning clients that they should expect to see continued weakness in the retail sector, which has failed to attract revenue growth from falling oil and economists’ predictions of greater consumption.
A recent Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report found that Israelis rank among the highest educated in the developed world. However, the same report found that the country still lags behind other nations with regard to gender equality in education. The OECD issued the report on Tuesday.
The report, entitled “Education at a Glance 2015,” found that 49 percent of Israelis had attained degrees representing higher levels of education. This proved much higher than the 34 percent average for all of the OECD’s other member nations.
According to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi authorities consider cutting subsidies for energy and water, a sign that low oil prices continue to burden the economy, according to Reuters. Salman believes oil prices could fall below $45 a barrel, which explains why the government embarked on various projects in the form of natural gas and nuclear investments. Officials also plan to tax unhealthy foods and raise more revenue by privatizing mines and public lands. The Kingdom derives 80 percent of total revenue from the oil market.
Personal income demonstrates small gains just as the Federal Reserve hunts for hints of rising inflation to justify increasing interest rates. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal incomes rose $68.1 billion, or 0.4%, indicating that workers have earned increased total wages and incomes throughout the United States, although the numbers have risen at a modest rate.
Mineral minister Evode Imena urges the United States to remove his country from a list of conflict-mineral nations, citing the fact the Rwanda has not been involved in a conflict since 1994, according to International Business Times. Imena and others argue that the East African nation’s status on the list undermines trade and hampers economic progress. Since the 1994 massacre that took over 800,000 lives, Rwanda has flourished as a hotbed for international investment.
Europe currently has approximately 900 billion euros ($956 billion USD) in bad loans, (aka non-performing loans or NPLs). The director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Jose Vinals, announced that figure.
GDP growth fell in the third quarter in the United States just as weaker manufacturing data and lower consumer confidence hindered the country’s economic recovery.
For those who remember commercials from the 1980s and 90s featuring starving Ethiopian children and asking viewers to contribute in order to buy them food, the explosive growth in Ethiopia may seem nothing short of miraculous. However, that growth and development has continued for a prolonged period, and modern Ethiopia now has fewer issues with starving citizens and more concerns about modernization.
Spain’s economic output grew at one of the fastest rates within the European Union due to stronger consumer spending, according to Reuters. The economy grew .08 percent when compared to the second quarter, and the economy expanded 3.3 percent for 2015.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and cabinet members are banking that the good news will help them win the general election in December. However, the International Monetary Fund expects the economy to recede to 2.5 percent in 2016.
Sales of existing homes are beginning to fall as low interest rates on mortgages fail to entice would-be buyers. Existing-home sales fell 3.4% in October from the prior month, according to a new report by the National Association of Realtors. A combination of expensive options, limited inventory growth, and sluggish wage growth has made it hard for Americans to buy houses.
