World

19Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

The geopolitics of the green transformation in Southeast Asia

As their green-transition efforts are increasingly caught up in the US–China rivalry, Southeast Asian states must find a way to convert potential short-term economic gains into long-lasting ones. With policymakers focused on global geopolitical flashpoints from the South China Sea to Myanmar and the Middle East, Southeast Asia’s growing emphasis on its green transition has generally been an under-appreciated agenda item. Following the latest Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Vientiane in July 2024, however, the meeting’s 36-page Joint Communique highlighted the importance of ‘green growth’ in advancing sustainable development. Indeed, nine out of ten ASEAN members have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions by mid...
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The Interpreter: Describe “economic statecraft.”
18Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

The Interpreter: Describe “economic statecraft.”

What is “economic statecraft”? Economic statecraft refers to a state’s use of economic policy instruments to achieve foreign policy objectives. Australia uses various tools of economic statecraft – including development assistance, loans, work visas, investment incentives and travel restrictions – as foreign policy levers to achieve its aims. Another term that is frequently used interchangeably with economic statecraft is geoeconomics. Geoeconomics focuses on the broad strategic interplay between economics and geopolitics, encompassing a wide range of economic policies and global power dynamics. What does economic statecraft include? A useful way to think about economic statecraft is in terms of carrots and sticks or, more formally, incentives or inducem...
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<strong>China targets Canadian Canola amid trade dispute</strong>
17Sep mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, World

China targets Canadian Canola amid trade dispute

Trade wars are a common occurrence in the global market, and the friction between China and Canada is no exception. These conflicts are often fuelled by geopolitical issues. Back in 2019, China halted Canadian meat imports after Huawei’s CEO, Meng Wanzhou, was detained. Officially, China blamed banned feed additives in the meat, but many saw it as a diplomatic move in response to the Ottawa-Beijing rift. Now, China is considering probing Canada for allegedly dumping canola into its market. In the realm of international trade, dumping refers to selling a product at a lower price in a foreign market than in the domestic one, essentially a form of price discrimination. Following Canada’s imposition of a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium from Chin...
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Expert: China has the funds to handle the real estate crisis without affecting the rest of the world.
12Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Expert: China has the funds to handle the real estate crisis without affecting the rest of the world.

China’s property market remains the biggest downside risk to its economic growth target this year, with policymakers seemingly not in a hurry to make significant changes because its impact is mostly confined to the world’s second-largest economy, according to the chief economist for a global ratings agency. “China has the savings to deal with this. It’s not really spilling over too much to the rest of the world,” said Paul Gruenwald, global chief economist at S&P Global Ratings. “So they’re not going to be forced into dealing with the property excesses by any external or market pressure. They can do it at their own time, but we are not at the bottom yet.” In May, China unveiled wide-ranging measures to stabilise its property sector, which has been in contraction sin...
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10Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Market, USA, World

US employment vacancies are declining; learn more about economics.

1. US job openings decline Job openings in the United States fell to a 3.5-year low in July, which suggests the labour market is losing steam. The number of unfilled jobs, shown in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), fell to its lowest since May 2021. It meant there were 1.07 open positions for every unemployed person in July. Investors and policymakers are watching the labour market closely, after four monthly increases in the unemployment rate stoked fears of a recession. "The labour market is still in pretty good shape, but it has cooled dramatically over the last year and a half," Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank, told Reuters. "Most Americans who want jobs have them, but there are fewer opportunities or alternatives for workers who ar...
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3Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, Market, USA, World

Global Economic Situation and Outlook Update for September 2024

After years of turbulence and significant volatility in economic output, the world economy is on a more stable trajectory. Global growth performance has held up surprisingly well in the face of recent shocks, including aggressive interest rate hikes by major central banks during 2022–2023 and an escalation of conflicts with international spillovers. Robust consumer spending in several large developed and developing economies – buoyed by high levels of employment, rising real wages, and relatively healthy household balance sheets – has sustained economic resilience. In a large number of economies, inflation has slowed considerably and is approaching central bank targets, providing room for monetary easing. In most cases, economies experienced disinflation without a significant deterioratio...
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Manufacturing PMI fell marginally in August.
23Aug By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, World

Manufacturing PMI fell marginally in August.

Factory business conditions fell to a three-month low in August while the services firms saw a slightly quicker business activity, according to a flash survey by HSBC Holdings Plc. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 57.9 in August from 58.1 in July, while the services purchasing managers’ index rose to 60.4 from 60.3 in the previous month. As a result, the composite index fell to 60.5 from 60.7 in July, the lowest reading since May. The latest manufacturing PMI reading was nevertheless above the historical average of 54 and signalled a strong improvement in the health of the sector. “Manufacturing firms reported the first decline in outstanding business volumes for the first time in eleven months, while service providers indicated another monthly ri...
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Gaza war has a toll on Israel’s economy.
23Aug By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, World

Gaza war has a toll on Israel’s economy.

Last week, Fitch Ratings downgraded Israel’s credit score from A+ to A. Fitch cited the continued war in Gaza and heightened geopolitical risks as key drivers. The agency also kept Israel’s outlook as “negative”, meaning a further downgrade is possible. After Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7, Israel’s stock market and currency nosedived. Both have since bounced back. But concerns about the country’s economy persist. Earlier this year, Moody’s and S&P also cut their credit ratings for Israel. So far, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and decimated the economy in the besieged Palestinian enclave. There are signs of a blowback in Israel, too, where consumption, trade and investment have all been curtailed. Separately, Fitch wa...
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Promoting Economic Momentum
23Aug By Online DeskNo Comments
Market, World

Promoting Economic Momentum

Admittedly, today Indian economy is dispelling the doubts of future low growth, whooping fiscal deficit, momentous spiraling inflation, and abysmal poverty. The present economic indicators hint that the ensuing GDP growth would be pegging at not less than 8 percent, while the fiscal deficit would hover around 5.2 percent. Similarly, retail inflation is expected to stay well under limits and may not slip beyond 4.2 percent. The multi-dimensional poverty level is sure to shrink at a record low level (4.96). Understandably, this all is presumed with buoyant growth of GST revenue coupled with other direct and indirect tax collections ( Rs 48.2 lakh crores) along with the infusion of relevant economic policies. Nevertheless, the existing economic challenges including staggering growth of...
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The Indian economy is on an upward trend, according to the Finance Ministry.
23Aug By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, World

The Indian economy is on an upward trend, according to the Finance Ministry.

New Delhi, Aug 22: The Indian economy experienced a notable upswing across various economic indicators in July 2024, signalling strong and resilient business activities with both the manufacturing and services sectors posting a robust performance, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly review released on Thursday. “The month saw impressive milestones being reached, substantial growth in GST collections, and a significant rise in e-way bill generation, which points to an overall increase in economic activity. The stock market indices also reached record highs in July,” the review states. On balance, India’s economic momentum remains intact. Despite a somewhat erratic monsoon, reservoirs have been replenished. Manufacturing and services sectors are expanding, going by the Pu...
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