World

The Group of Seven has promised to cooperate to combat economic coercion in response to a "disturbing rise" in nations using trade as a weapon. The club of affluent democracies said they will increase resilience "by reducing vulnerabilities and countering malign practices that exploit and reinforce them" in a declaration on economic security made public on the second day of the G7 meeting in Japan."I want the leaders of our country to see what happened in Hiroshima" Survivor list 2 of 4"Speak words of sorrow" G7 leaders ponder at the list of the Hiroshima bomb museum 3 of 4G7 strengthens sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of UkraineNuclear conflict, China, and Ukraine G7 meeting this year's bottom of the listAlthough China was not specifically mentioned in the G7 statement that...

As the G7 leaders sent a strong message to Russia by inviting Volodymyr Zelensky to Hiroshima, another rival was also on their minds - China. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China posed "the greatest challenge of our age" in regards to global security and prosperity, and that it was "increasingly authoritarian at home and abroad". And in not one but two statements, the leaders of the world's richest democracies made clear to Beijing their stance on divisive issues such as the Indo-Pacific and Taiwan. But the most important part of their message centred on what they called "economic coercion". It's a tricky balancing act for the G7. Through trade their economies have become inextricably dependent on China, but competition with Beijing has increased and they disagree on man...

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a TV interview that negotiations with the administration of US President Joe Biden over the US debt ceiling will resume this evening after a temporary pause earlier in the day rattled financial markets. The two sides have little time to agree on a deal to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or risk a catastrophic default. The Department of the Treasury has warned that the government could be unable to pay all its bills by June 1. “We’ll be back in the room tonight,” McCarthy said in an interview on Fox Business on Friday. The White House has yet to comment. While it falls to Congress to adjust the government’s spending limits, Republicans in the House of Representatives have used their majority as leverage to d...

Due to the potential for increased costs and less competition, a federal court in the United States has ordered that two major airlines dissolve their regional alliance in the nation's northeast within 30 days. The US Justice Department has won after Friday's ruling involving American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, which it had sued to prevent from forming a "unprecedented domestic alliance" in 2021. Spirit Airlines will be bought by JetBlue for $3.8 billion.Leo Sorokin, the district judge for Massachusetts, criticized the agreement in his decision, saying it "diminishes JetBlue's status as an independent, low-cost player in the market." He also shared the Justice Department's worries that the alliance will limit rival airline competition. In his judgement, Sorokin said that the t...

Up until a few weeks ago, investors' bets on the nation's economic revival after the relaxation of pandemic restrictions had made Chinese equities among the best-performing in the world over the preceding six months. However, CNN estimates show that since April 18, when China disclosed data on its first-quarter economic production, the value of equities of Chinese firms throughout the globe has decreased by nearly $540 billion. Due to China's uncertain economic situation, escalating geopolitical tensions, and Beijing's crackdown on foreign consulting businesses, investors reduced their exposure to the country. Since April 18, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index has decreased by more than 5%. The Hang Seng (HSI) Index for Hong Kong has fallen 5% as well. Additionally, the Shenzhen C...

A more favorable comparison for real estate and other statistics recorded for the first four months of this year is now available because to revisions made by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to certain of its 2022 economic data. According to NBS statistics issued on Tuesday, sales of new residences by area fell by 0.4% to 376.4 million square meters in the first four months of this year compared to the same time in 2016, while sales value increased by 8.8% to 3.98 trillion yuan.

The Chinese president made his position known on May 14 when he spoke against a "street stall economy" in the Xiongan New Area, a metropolis being developed south of Beijing to relieve the congestion and pressure in the 22 million-person capital city. The capital city is not a "hodgepodge," but rather first and foremost a political hub. It cannot run "factories in alleys" and participate in the "street stall economy," Xi reportedly remarked in a speech originally published by the official state news agency Xinhua. This is the first time Xi has publicly criticized recent local government initiatives to restore the economy via a "street stall economy," CNN said on Thursday. Xi's remarks from last week are unusual since they mark the first time he has done so. In China, the phrase "...

South Asia, battered by three years of upheaval from the COVID-19 pandemic and spillovers from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, faces a combination of good and bad news for its economies.  On the positive side, global energy and fertilizer prices are down, both tourism and business services continue to recover strongly, and the reopening of China’s economy is relaxing supply bottlenecks. However, rising interest rates and risks in the banking sector in the United States and Europe have increased uncertainties in South Asia’s outlook, given their significant impact on balance of payments, exchange rates, and financial markets  Therefore, growth in South Asia is expected to slow down in 2023, according to our latest South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) , Expanding ...