Tens of thousands of Moldovans call for the head of President Nicolae Timofti as his cabinet contends with a mounting banking scandal, which has tarnished the reputation of Europe’s poorest nation, according to AFP. Moldova was once a former Soviet state but has gravitated closer to the European Union through an association agreement, much to the chagrin of Russia. Moldova sits between Ukraine and Romania.
Eurozone economies saw a modest resurgence of growth in the second quarter, but mounting tensions over migrant inflows are steering political focus away from growth.
Exports and consumer spending helped drive European growth higher, according to new statistics from Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics office. Household consumption rose 0.4% in the second quarter of 2015, while growth in the same period rose 0.3% throughout Europe.
After months of hinting at interest rate hikes, many Americans consider the prospect of an increase in the prime rate a certainty. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the world’s largest economies, including the United States, against raising interest rates too soon. According to the IMF, too many risks to global growth remain, and more advanced economies should continue to pursue “growth supportive policies.”
The International Monetary Fund warns that financial turmoil could begin a vicious cycle that hurts global economic growth.
The largest Asian economy’s slowdown, combined with a bear trend in its stock market, could cause lower growth in the future. The IMF warned that China’s weakness is worse than anticipated in a new report, which predicts global growth will decelerate slightly to 3.3%, with China growing 6.8%, a large fall from 7.4% growth in 2014. The report also warned, “downside risks have risen” for the global economy.
Indian growth stood at 7.0 percent year-on-year in the first financial quarter of 2016, a drawback from the 7.5-percent growth seen from the previous cycle, notes AFP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rightist cabinet is responsible for numerous reforms, but outside pressure grows for his administration to do more. Modi aims to take India into double-digit growth territory, and officials expect an 8.1-percent surplus for the year, but experts believe such an assessment may be overly optimistic.
The Ukraine has been embattled in both a military sense and economically for the past year. On August 25, 2015, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $500 million (USD) loan designed to finance a multi-sector reform and development policy enacted by the Ukraine. The reforms and financing should support a number of important reforms designed to improve the public sector as well as the business environment, energy sector, and social assistance programs.
Defying analyst forecasts, Switzerland’s economy grew 0.2 percent, surpassing expectations of a 0.1-percent contraction that would have led to a recession, according to Reuters. Exports and consumer spending increased, as well as construction and machinery investments.
The Swiss National Bank’s decision to remove the cap on the franc currency placed the country in a precarious position, but the economy seems to be pressing on, especially in the area of exports. Overall, exports rose 0.5 percent, particularly in such areas as watchmaking, jewelry and pharmaceuticals.
As the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran appears more and more likely, the World Bank has begun making new predictions for the embattled nation’s post-sanction economy. According to the World Bank, the relief from years of crippling sanctions could lead to an “economic windfall” for Iran.
The Chinese government is demanding brokerages use their own money to help prop up the falling stock market with new requirements for stock buybacks.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission met with 50 stock brokerages over the weekend, and asked that brokerages begin buying shares from clients to limit selling pressure. In total, the CSRC is asking brokerages to buy up to 10% of the total value of the Chinese stock market.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued a report on member nation economic performance in the second quarter of 2015. Unfortunately, the numbers were not promising: it reveals that the combined economic growth of the OECD’s member nations fell to 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 2015.
