Nigeria remains in a tight spot as low oil prices force officials to burn through borrowing reserves to pay salaries. Nigeria derives 80 percent of its income from oil revenue, but it has seen a 50 percent decline in oil income. Further, the Nigerian naira has lowered in value despite efforts from the country’s central bank to support the currency with billions of U.S. dollars.
Since the US economic recovery began, following the “Great Recession” of 2008, things have been slow but steady. That is, they were until the first quarter of 2015. A number of growth indicators have been off for some time, but at the start of this year, the economy barely grew, and all indicators point to similarly sluggish growth right now.
After losing 50% of its value in 2014, oil prices have surged in 2015, rising from $40 to over $60 a barrel in just three months.
The price of oil rose to over $60 a barrel in the United States on Tuesday, and has risen even further in early Wednesday trading. Analysts disagree on the exact causes, but as one analyst wrote in a note on Wednesday, “bulls are in control of the market.”
According to government projections, Mozambique’s growth will come from such sectors as gas, electricity and agriculture. Authorities also aim to develop the country’s vast natural gas reserves to boost economic performance.
Authorities hope to repeat their record of 7.5-percent growth in 2014. The country’s GDP growth has been a consistent 7.4 percent throughout the decades, attributable to such factors as foreign investment and donor funds. Growth for 2015 would be a positive outcome for a country that suffered years of civil war.
The Freddie Gray protests and riots rocked Baltimore for days. While this unrest has already caused considerable damage and economic harm, economists fear the long-term damage may be more devastating.
After the worst month on record for the Australian dollar, the nation’s central bank cut its key rate to 2%.
That represents a 25 basis point cut which many analysts had expected. The decision was made as Australia fights falling inflation and weakening exports, as a fall in commodity prices—Australia is a net energy exporter—combined with lower demand in China—the country’s largest trading partner—contributed to economic weakness and a fall in the currency’s value.
Despite broad support from mainstream economists, the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal is losing political support in America.
President Barack Obama has doubled down on the deal, announcing his intentions to pass the legislation and his hopes that both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives will support the deal. However, some 80% of Democrats in the Congress have announced they will not support the deal.
Nepal’s economy will undergo long-term recovery, stemming from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed over 5,000 people. Nepal needs the help of nations and banks from around the world, and analysts predict economic contraction if the struggling nation does not receive the necessary support.
Arguably, the most famous astrophysicist in the world, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, has posited that the first private trillionaires in the world will make their money by exploiting the endless resources of space. These comments came during an interview with CNBC regarding his TV show called “Star Talk.”
Russia’s central bank cut a crucial interest rate by 1.5 percentage points, bringing the rate down to 12.5 percent. The cut marks the third adjustment for 2015, and the bank will keep cutting rates as consumer prices lower, among other factors.
