UK growth slowed to its lowest rate since 2012 in a surprise reversal.
The British economy saw growth slow to just 0.3% in the first quarter of this year, a sharp reversal from the previous quarter when growth rose at a 0.5% rate. Analyst had varied expectations of growth nearly double the actual rate for Q1.
Consumers Fail to Show Up
China released its first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) tabulations in early April. The figure it quoted, seven percent, represented the worst rate of growth for the Asian economic power in six years. This caused many to fear a worsening slowdown of the Chinese economy. Yet, more bad news was still to come.
Deutsche Bank announced it would retreat from up to 10 countries as it looks to save $3.8 billion in costs.
Mali’s economy grew 7.2 percent in 2014, despite the disruption of a 2012 coup and the threat of Islamist incursion. The growth stems from improvements in public finance and complying with financial market rules.
Generally, when thinking about the value of a nation’s resources, economists look to more practical and empirical figures. How strong is the dollar versus another currency? What is the relative gross domestic product (GDP) of one nation versus another? While this is certainly more practical for most purposes, one researcher asked an entirely different question: at market value, what would all of the real estate in the United States actually be worth?
According to the Bank of South Korea, the economy grew 0.8 percent in the first quarter, an uptick from 0.3 percent in the last quarter. The economy gained traction due to an increase in consumer spending and the construction sector.
In a move that affects an industry worth over $6 billion that stretches across two continents, the EU has warned Thailand that it must fix human rights abuses such as child slavery in its fishing industry.
Earlier this week, the EU said it would give the third largest seafood exporter in the world six months to fix human rights abuses in its fishing industry, or face a blanket ban that could cost over $500 million in lost sales to the economic bloc.
At a time when most of the news reports for large, industrialized nations seem mixed, at best, it may be time to look to other nations for investment opportunities. One surprising locale for big economic growth in the near future is North Africa.
Analysts predict that the Eurozone economy will gain traction as consumers have more money to spend from low oil prices, among other factors like the funds flooding the market from the ECB’s asset-purchase program. Economists expect per-quarter growth of 0.4 percent until 2016, including an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent for 2015 and 1.6 percent for 2016.
Economic growth in China continues to cool as manufacturing falls to its lowest output in a year.
According to the Purchasing Managers Index published by HSBC and Markit Economics, Asia’s largest economy saw its manufacturing industry contract in the lowest reading in a year. The PMI fell to 49.2 in April, far below expectations.
