Europe select Kristalina Georgieva for IMF top job August 3, 2019 The Bulgarian chief executive of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, has been selected as Europe’s choice to become the IMF’s managing director following a day of voting. Georgieva narrowly beat former chair of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, and is now favourite for the role. Read more: Europe votes on IMF candidate [...]
Europe votes on IMF candidate as Finland central bank governor withdraws from contest August 2, 2019 Finland’s central bank governor Olli Rehn has withdrawn himself from the race to become the IMF’s managing director. European finance ministers have been battling to take on the role, but unable to come to a unanimous decision, resulting in a vote. Read more: Mark Carney misses cut for IMF top job However, Rehn, joined another [...]
US private sector output falls to three-year low as trade war bites May 23, 2019 The ongoing trade war with China helped push business activity growth in the US to a three-year low in May, according to widely-watched survey released today. Read more: Chip designer Arm to suspend business with Huawei Output in manufacturing and services was held back by lower demand and subdued growth of new orders, which firms [...]
Economists are united about Trump’s trade folly May 14, 2019 In George Bernard Shaw’s words, if all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. Scour the pool of practitioners of the dismal science, and you will find supporters and detractors for almost every economic theory, from free markets to socialism. The one exception, however, is protectionism. Whether from the left [...]
Mnuchin says US-China trade deal could be sealed within two rounds of talks April 29, 2019 US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said today that he hopes the United States and China can reach a trade deal using two more rounds of talks. Read more: US trade deficit shrinks as exports to China surge Mnuchin told Fox Business Network that within the next two rounds of discussions it will become clear whether [...]
UK economy’s strong start to year likely a ‘false dawn’, forecaster says April 29, 2019 UK economic growth will slow in the second half of the year after a strong start, according to economists at EY Item Club, as prolonged Brexit uncertainty and a global economic slowdown continue to bite. Read more: Prolonged Brexit process hurting UK economy, Goldman Sachs warns The economy is now predicted to grow at just [...]
‘Wake-up call’: Germany downgrades 2019 economic growth forecast to just 0.5 per cent April 17, 2019 The German government today once again slashed growth predictions for its economy, saying it now foresees a GDP increase of just 0.5 per cent in 2019, compared to the 2.1 per cent it predicted a year ago. Read more: Eurozone manufacturing sector contracts with Germany shrinking fastest Economy minister Peter Altmaier said new car emissions [...]
German investors more optimistic thanks to Brexit delay April 16, 2019 Investors are more optimistic about the struggling German economy than they were a month ago, in a sign that Europe’s biggest economy may be about to turn a corner. Read more: Eurozone manufacturing sector contracts with Germany shrinking fastest German research institute ZEW’s monthly survey of sentiment among analysts swung into positive territory for the [...]
The euro falls as ECB chief Draghi delivers pessimistic verdict on Eurozone economy April 10, 2019 The European Central Bank (ECB) kept up recent tradition today when it announced it would hold interest rates at record low levels and reaffirmed that it will not raise them before the end of 2019. Read more: US threatens tariffs on $11bn of EU goods ECB boss Mario Draghi struck a more pessimistic tone than [...]
Britain’s economy grows faster than predicted in February April 10, 2019 The UK economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the three months to February, a better-than-expected result as the country counts down to Brexit and faces a weak global economy. Read more: No-deal Brexit could tip UK and EU into recession, IMF says In February Britain’s economy grew by 0.2 per cent, figures released today [...]