According to a report released from the German central bank, the economy has been bolstered by such factors low unemployment and a weaker euro. Germany expects GDP growth of 1.7 percent in 2015, 1.8 percent growth in 2016 and 1.5 percent growth for 2017. Imports fell 1.9 percent month-on-month, with the trade surplus increasing to a record 22.3 billion euros.
According to a recent report by BloombergBusiness, jobs in the US healthcare sector are more plentiful than ever before. Indeed, according to statistics for April 2015, job openings in the healthcare industry reached a new record high that surpassed anything seen before in over 14 years of data collection. However, the hiring rate for those record numbers of openings remained almost constant.
Since the escalating tensions around Ukraine, Russia has seen inflation rates soar and economic growth collapse, but Russia’s central bank sees an end to the troubles for the eastern nation.
The Japanese economy grew at an annualized 3.9 percent from January to March, which is beyond an initial estimate of 2.4 percent, due to increased spending among consumers and the business sector. The economy itself expanded 1.0 percent, surpassing a previous estimate of 0.6 percent. Analysts predict slower growth from April to June.
China’s imports fell for the seventh month, including a shortfall in exports. Experts expected a 10-percent fall in imports, but imports dropped 17.6 percent year-on-year.
For several years, the news has been filled with stories about California’s historic drought conditions. However, few truly understand the full impact of these conditions. After all, most stories revolve around water restrictions, closing golf courses, and reduced almond output. Yet, in reality, the drought, now in its fourth year, might cause $2.7 billion in damage to the California economy in 2015.
The U.S. Federal Government is getting more revenue, which is helping it cut the budget deficit by over 15%.
The Federal deficit fell by $68 billion to $368 billion according to the Congressional Budget Office’s May report. That decline was helped mostly by a rise in revenues, which grew by 9% on a year-over-year basis, which outpaced growth in spending, which rose only 4% on a year-over-year basis. In total, the U.S. government received $2.1 trillion in the first eight months of the fiscal year 2015.
Income Taxes Strengthen
According to data from the International Monetary Fund, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy could grow 9.2 percent in 2015. Congo’s growth is mainly attributed to copper and gold mining.
The government is more optimistic than data from the IMF, expecting the economy to grow 10.3 percent in 2015, and data from Moody’s suggests that Congo could undergo the second fastest growth rate in the world throughout 2015 and 2016, growing at around 10 percent. Congo is one of the wealthiest regions in Africa, containing gold, diamonds, zinc and other precious minerals.
Following its recovery from the Global Recession, Germany has often led the Eurozone in economic recovery indicators. This week, Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, improved its own estimate for the German economy for 2015 and beyond thanks to the nation’s continuing record low unemployment and a stronger Euro.
The German central bank now predicts gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.7 percent by the end of 2015, and 1.8 percent by the end of 2016. In December, the Bundesbank had predicted growth of just 1 percent for 2015 and 1.6 percent for 2016.
The Eurozone has seen improving inflation and unemployment figures, while a Greek default is challenging expectations of a steadily improving European economy.
European leaders continue to negotiate a settlement of the ongoing Greek debt crisis, as the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with Eurozone creditors to find a way to restructure the Mediterranean country’s debt load. The hope is that the two groups can find a way to help Greece avoid defaulting on its loans, which is likely to happen by the end of this month, if not sooner.
