World

Tension in Venezuela is running high after a government-controlled electoral authority declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election and handed him a third consecutive term in office. Not only has the election been described as "undemocratic" by independent observers, but the result announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) has also been dismissed as fraudulent by the opposition. The European Union, the United States and a number of Latin American nations have refused to recognise the result, calling instead on the CNE to release detailed data from polling stations which the opposition says proves that its candidate, Edmundo González, won by a wide margin. Anti-government protests have flared up and hundreds of people have been arrested by the security f...

The euro zone's economy grew slightly more than expected in the three months to June, data showed on Tuesday, but a mixed underlying picture and a string of pessimistic surveys cloud the outlook for the rest of the year. The figures portray a bloc struggling to regain ground in global trade but continuing to enjoy a domestic rebound fuelled by higher real incomes and public spending. Output in the 20 countries that share the euro increased by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of the year, Eurostat data showed, keeping up the pace from the previous quarter and just ahead of economists' expectations. Among large economies, France and Spain did better than expected, Italy held its ground, while German output unexpectedly contracted, strengthening fears about a lengthy crisis in a c...

Australia’s recession risk has increased sharply throughout the middle of 2024 as the economy cools and inflation is still not under control. When the year began, inflation was in a downtrend, as the next chart shows. But as of July we can say with confidence that the trend did not continue. Inflation has now been hovering outside the RBA’s target range for months, with little sign of further falls. They want it to land between 2% and 3%, but it is instead heading in the other direction. Alarm Bells at RBA The stubborn persistence of inflation greater than 3% will alarm the Reserve Bank of Australia. “Inflation remained above the target range and had been a little higher than expected in prior months,” the RBA wrote in the minutes of their most recent Board meeting. ”Susta...