Category: Economy
India: Is the fastest-growing big economy losing steam?
Is the world’s fastest-growing big economy losing steam? The latest GDP numbers paint a sobering picture. Between July and September, India’s economy slumped to a seven-quarter low of 5.4%, well below the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forecast of 7%. While it is still robust compared with developed nations, the figure signals a slowdown. Economists attribute this to several factors. Consumer demand has weakened, private investment has been sluggish for years and government spending – an essential driver in recent years – has been pulled back. India’s goods exports have long struggled, with their global share standing at a mere [Read More…]
EU tries to get closer to South America with trade deal
The European Union has signed a trade deal with four of South America’s biggest economies. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement a “truly historic milestone” in an “increasingly confrontational world”. A previous agreement in 2019 never came into force because not all EU member states were willing to ratify it. If this deal gets ratified by EU states, it means that companies trading between the two regional blocs will charge each other lower tariffs, use simplified customs procedures and it will give the EU easier access to raw materials. Ms von der Leyen told reporters in Montevideo it [Read More…]
Trump threatens 100% tariff on Brics nations if they try to replace dollar
US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on a bloc of nine nations if they were to create a rival currency to the US dollar. “The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote on social media on Saturday. Major world powers China and Russia are part of the Brics alliance, along with Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. During the US election, Trump campaigned on implementing widespread tariffs. He has escalated threats of steep levies [Read More…]
UK-India trade talks to re-launch in the new year
Free trade talks between India and the UK will be relaunched in the new year, Downing Street has announced. The news comes after Sir Keir Starmer met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Brazil. A post-Brexit deal could unlock valuable markets for British cars, Scottish whisky, and financial services worth billions of pounds, with India on course to become the third largest economy in the world by 2050. However, the UK has been locked in more than a dozen rounds of negotiations since 2022, with key sticking points around relaxing visa rules and lowering fees for Indian students and [Read More…]
Canada hits China-made electric cars with 100% tariff
Canada says it will impose a 100% tariff on imports of China-made electric vehicles (EV) after similar announcements by the US and European Union. The country also plans to impose a 25% duty on Chinese steel and aluminium. Canada and its Western allies accuse China of subsidising its EV industry, giving its car makers an unfair advantage. China has called the move “trade protectionism” which “violates World Trade Organization rules”. “We are transforming Canada’s automotive sector to be a global leader in building the vehicles of tomorrow, but actors like China have chosen to give themselves an unfair advantage in [Read More…]
Why US economy is powering ahead of Europe’s
While countries around the world have struggled to recover from the economic setbacks brought on by the pandemic, one has emerged particularly strong. With a fast-growing economy, a strong labour market and falling inflation, the US has outpaced its counterparts in Europe and elsewhere. In terms of GDP, it posted a 3.3% gain in the fourth quarter of 2023, far exceeding economists’ expectations of 2%. That put the US at 2.5% over the course of the year, outpacing all other advanced economies and on track to do so again in 2024. “The US is holding up much better than other [Read More…]
Why businesses are pulling billions in profits from China
Foreign businesses have been pulling money out of China at a faster rate than they have been putting it in, official data shows. The country’s slowing economy, low interest rates and a geopolitical tussle with the US have sparked doubt about its economic potential. All eyes will be on a crucial meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden this week. But businesses appear to be already erring on the side of caution. “Anxieties around geopolitical risk, domestic policy uncertainty and slower growth are pushing companies to think about alternative markets,” says Nick Marro from the Economist Intelligence Unit [Read More…]
US inflation below 5% for first time in two years
Prices for milk, airline tickets and new cars fell in the US last month, helping drive inflation to its lowest rate in two years. Inflation, the pace at which prices rise, was 4.9% in the 12 months to April, official figures show. That was down from 5% in March, and marks the tenth month in a row that price rises have slowed. The fall comes after the US central bank has sharply raised interest rates to try to control inflation. Inflation in the US peaked last June at 9.1% – the highest it has been since 1981. But officials have [Read More…]
Venezuela’s slow economic recovery leaves poorest behind
After eight years of economic crisis, Venezuela’s economy is showing a few signs of recovery. But as BBC News Mundo’s Norberto Paredes reports from Caracas, while some of those living in the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods are trying to make the most of the new opportunities opening up, many have yet to feel the benefits of the apparent economic rebound. “I was about to turn 15 and I wasn’t sure if I wanted a party, a present or just the funds to open a small ice cream shop,” says Aray Arias Torres of the decision that led her to become one [Read More…]
UK economy shrank more than previously thought
The UK economy shrank by more than first thought in the three months to September, revised figures show. The economy contracted by 0.3%, compared with a previous estimate of 0.2%, as business investment performed worse than first thought, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Growth figures for the first half of 2022 have also been revised down. The UK is forecast to fall into recession in the final three months of the year as soaring prices hit growth. A country is considered to be in recession when its economy shrinks for two three-month periods – or quarters – in a [Read More…]
