World

China’s economy and its influence on global markets
23Aug mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, USA, World

China’s economy and its influence on global markets

China remains among the largest global economies, but it faces significant economic headwinds. The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, a common economic activity measure, slowed from double-digit annual increases during the 2000s to 5.3% in this year’s second quarter. Nevertheless, China remains a major global trading partner and ranks as the second-largest economy worldwide, trailing only the United States.  ’s agenda emphasizes reframing Chinese trade relations. To reduce dependence on Chinese-made goods and promote domestic manufacturing, President Trump implemented varying  on Chinese imports. Early in the new administration, the U.S. added 10% tariffs to China. That quickly doubled to 20% and eventually totaled 145%, threatening to cripple trade ...
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After job reports suggested possible problems, Trump used graphs to argue that the US economy is doing well.
9Aug mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
USA, World

After job reports suggested possible problems, Trump used graphs to argue that the US economy is doing well.

President Donald Trump unexpectedly summoned reporters to the Oval Office on Thursday to present them with charts that he says show the U.S. economy is solid following a jobs report last week that raised red flags and led to the Republican firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Joining Trump to talk about the economy was Stephen Moore, a senior visiting fellow in economics at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and the co-author of the 2018 book “ Trumponomics.” Flipping through a series of charts on an easel, Moore sought to elevate Trump’s performance as president and diminish the economic track record of former President Joe Biden. Trump stood next to Moore and interjected with approvals. The moment in the Oval Office spoke to the president’s ho...
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As the US economy begins to struggle, new taxes on imports, put in place by Trump, are starting.
8Aug mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
USA, World

As the US economy begins to struggle, new taxes on imports, put in place by Trump, are starting.

US President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the American economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States. “I think the growth is going to be unprecedented,” Trump said Wednesday. He said the US was “taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs,” but did not provide a specific figure for revenues bec...
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China optimizes foreign exchange reserve structure
21Jul mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China, World

China optimizes foreign exchange reserve structure

Nation likely to increase investments in non-dollar assets, say economists Economists and policy advisers have said that it is a strategic necessity for China to further scale back holdings in United States government debt in order to safeguard national financial stability, amid waning confidence in the dollar-based system and persistent geopolitical tensions. To pursue a more balanced, controllable allocation of foreign exchange reserves, the country is also likely to increase investments in non-dollar assets, including financial instruments of its Asian trading partners and crucial resources such as gold, energy and food, they added. Yu Yongding, an academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, called for China to continue reducing US government debt holdings i...
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<strong>WHY USA’s TARIFFS ON CHINA MAKE SENSE?</strong>
16May mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China, USA, World

WHY USA’s TARIFFS ON CHINA MAKE SENSE?

China’s economic ascent has been propelled not by a level playing field but by comprehensive state intervention that skews markets in favor of domestic champions. In April 2025, data from China’s General Administration of Customs revealed a 21 percent year-on-year drop in Chinese exports to the United States—an abrupt decline directly linked to U.S. tariffs soaring as high as 145 percent—while Beijing sought to reroute shipments to other global markets. The United States Trade Representative’s 2024 Report to Congress documents China’s chronic non-compliance with WTO obligations, highlighting opaque procurement rules, forced technology transfers, and hidden subsidies to state-owned enterprises that produce goods at below-cost prices to undercut foreign competitors. These tactics inflat...
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Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?
26Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?

Three years into the Ukraine war, Russia’s wartime economy appears not only to be surviving Western sanctions, but thriving — driven by oil revenues, surging military production, and a broader economic reorientation toward war. While much of the world expected Russia to collapse under the weight of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the opposite occurred: the Russian economy grew by 3.6% in 2023 and an even higher 4.1% in 2024, outpacing most Western nations. Yet this is not a sustainable economic model for the long term. Growth is heavily militarized and sustained by wartime spending, making it fiscally unsustainable. Inflation has also ticked upward amid rampant state spending, creating a cost-of-living crisis that won’t be easily reversed. Transitioning the Russian wartime economy ...
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Turkiye addresses the economic issue on a worldwide scale.
25Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Turkiye addresses the economic issue on a worldwide scale.

Shafaq News/ Recent developments in Turkiye's economy will be discussed on an international level, the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced on Tuesday. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan will discuss Turkiye’s latest economic developments in a call at 13:00 GMT, hosted by Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, as part of efforts to reassure investors following recent political and economic turmoil, the ministry stated.On Wednesday, Turkish police arrested Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival. A court later ruled to hold him in pretrial detention on corruption-related charges. The decision sparked the country’s largest protests in over a decade, with opposition figures and European leaders condemning it as “politically mo...
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As the rupiah hits Asian crisis lows, Indonesia steps in.
25Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

As the rupiah hits Asian crisis lows, Indonesia steps in.

Indonesia's central bank stepped into the currency market to defend the rupiah on Tuesday (Mar 25), as growing concerns over politics, government spending and capital flight pushed the rupiah to its lowest levels since the Asian financial crisis. The rupiah weakened as much as 0.54 per cent to a low of 16,640 rupiah per dollar in morning trade, extending a slide that has been driven by global market uncertainties and concerns over Indonesia's fiscal health and growth outlook. A central bank official told Reuters that Bank Indonesia (BI) had intervened in the spot currency, bond markets and in domestic non-deliverable forwards as the rupiah careened towards its lowest point in 25 years. Its all-time low was 16,800 rupiah per dollar in June 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis, a...
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Turkey rushes to halt the financial disaster
24Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Turkey rushes to halt the financial disaster

Turkey’s financial authorities scrambled Monday to stop a rout in the currency and stock market, after the country lurched toward a full-blown political crisis at the weekend with the imprisonment of a rival to President Reçep Tayyip Erdoğan. The lira fell nearly 2 percent against the dollar and the government bond market was also hit by heavy selling as markets reopened after the weekend, but by midday there were signs that emergency measures from the Central Bank of Turkey (TCMB) and stock exchange regulator (SPK) had contained the fallout, at least in the short term. Turkey’s currency had slumped to a new all-time low against the dollar and euro last week after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu — the man who was set to challenge Erdoğan for the presidency at the next election in 2028...
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Global Debt Crisis
22Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Global Debt Crisis

“The Romans had a god named Janus – deity of thresholds, beginnings, and transitions, famously depicted with two faces, one looking back, the other forward. Debt management demands that same duality. Like that ancient god, we too must look in two directions at once: backward at the debts we’ve accumulated, and forward to the futures they will shape,” said UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) chief Rebeca Grynspan in her opening remarks at UN organised 14th International Debt Management Conference last week in Geneva. A perfect illustration showcasing that debt management requires countries to balance their past borrowings with the impact they will have on the future. Several developing nations are currently struggling with a severe debt crisis. UNCTAD Report indicates that in 2023, their ...
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