New figures from the Office for National Statistics have suggested that the Conservative levelling up agenda has failed after data revealed that almost the whole of Britain outside of London suffered a downturn following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The findings showed that economic output in six out of nine English regions fell in the three months to September last year, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales also all suffering a contraction or stagnation.
Ghana bets on $3bn IMF loan to ‘reset’ economy, ease hardship
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 20:38
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) $3bn bailout to Ghana has been described as a "crucial first step" in getting the West African nation on the road to economic recovery and inclusive growth. However, analysts warned the package, payable over three years in several tranches, needs to be complemented by further sustainable reforms and improved governance. The loan is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, ensuring sustainable growth and laying the foundations for stronger, more inclusive growth. Ghana has been reeling from an economic crisis caused by weak currency, rising public debt and high inflation.
Victoria's net debt is expected to rise to over $165bn by 2025-26, with Treasurer Tim Pallas unveiling his ninth budget today. Many experts believe Victoria has become too reliant on its sources of revenue, such as payroll taxes and stamp duties, and a shift toward a broad-based property tax is required to provide stability in the long term. However, this would not immediately help Victoria's short-term economic woes. Additionally, alternative options could include cutting spending or raising taxes, yet the latter is likely to drive up costs for consumers. Pallas is thought to have only two feasible options: cut spending or raise taxes, yet must work to ensure that austerity measures do not hurt Victorians suffering economic hardship.
India's economic reform programme has failed to progress as expected during PM Modi's second term, according to the India Reforms Scorecard, an assessment of 30 key economic reforms. Although Modi completed 9 of the 30 reforms during his first term and partially completed another 15, his government has pushed through just a single reform in his second term to date, decreasing corporate tax rates. The remaining four completed economic reforms were attributed to the pandemic fears in the country. India is predicted to show growth of around 6.5% for the year and next, according to the Asian Development Bank.
South Korea's finance minister, Choo Kyung-ho, has discussed economic co-operation with China's ambassador to South Korea, as diplomatic tensions – stemming mostly from China's policies towards Taiwan – cast a pall over South Korea's economy. South Korea's sluggish economy and its export industry, which accounts for nearly 40% of its economy, have already been hit by low global demand for Korean technology products. South Korea's ambassador to Washington announced earlier this month that Seoul would soon open senior-level dialogues with Beijing.
Leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies (G7) have discussed how to build support for a “strong response to economic coercion” by China. Ahead of a summit in Hiroshima, US officials predicted a joint response from all countries, which will involve protecting technologies in areas of national security. The EU has also been seeking to create support for a strategy against economic coercion, to “derisk” rather than disconnect from, China. However, all seven members of the G7 require a positive relationship with the world’s second-largest economy. The US imported goods amounting to $537bn from China last year, while its businesses invested nearly $120bn in China. EU investments in China over the course of two decades amounted to over $140bn. In the face of criticisms from the US, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin argued that the US was the chief culprit in the coercion of China.
The Canadian housing market owes its recovery to the country's economic strength and surging employment rates. However, the rise of regional prices could soon trigger new stress tests and alter the outlook for first-time buyers, explains Robert McLister in the Globe and Mail. While there is a three-in-four likelihood that the Bank of Canada will increase the prime rate again by 6 September, McLister argues that the central bank may hold off on further hikes despite the inflation-fuelling economic growth, as tens of thousands of Canadians risk plunging further into debt.
The US, EU and Japan are putting forward a strategy of cooperating with China but adopting a "de-risking" approach to sensitive sectors such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. This stance appears designed to avoid full decoupling with China and maintain economic interests while also protecting national security. The approach is backed by Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission and the UK, Japan and the US. However, each country has adopted its own version of the strategy shaped by its exposure to the Chinese economy. The G7 has stressed the need to protect critical technologies and supply chains.
Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, has written an opinion piece for The Telegraph in which he emphasised the importance of maintaining the unity of the G7 in the face of a range of geopolitical, environmental, and health challenges. Suga listed issues ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to climate change, as well as the regional situations involving Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, and called for the G7 nations to take a united, multilateral approach to combat them.
G7 leaders gather on China’s doorstep to seek unified response to Beijing’s threat
CNN
23-05-19 04:17
The G7 summit, which has convened in Hiroshima, will focus on the dominant issue of China and Russia, with the G7 nations seeking to present a united approach to China’s increasing economic and military might and Russia’s activities in Ukraine. The economic security of the G7 nations is of particular concern in the face of China’s assertive demonstrations of economic coercion. China has already bolstered its ties with Russia, and is attempting to drive a wedge into the transatlantic alliance, which has concerned officials in Washington. Yasuhiro Matsuda, an international relations professor at the University of Tokyo, suggests that the G7 meeting constitutes a platform for the leaders to discuss how to deal with these issues. However, a different approach is required considering members’ different concerns and relationships with Beijing and in view of their strong economic links to China. It remains to be seen how the summit will help to recalibrate the G7 approach toward China, but it is anticipated that leaders will work toward diversifying supply chains and reducing reliance on China.
The US and China are in a new cold war, and so the US needs to review China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. Countries with PNTR status receive preferential trade treatment such as lower tariffs and fewer import quotas. American consumers gained access to lower-priced Chinese exports, and US companies enjoyed improved profit margins. Since receiving this status China has routinely violated its trade commitments and international trade law. The US lost 3.7m jobs to China since granting Beijing PNTR status. According to this article, lawmakers should consider legislation that would suspend or revoke PNTR status.
Singapore leads global economic freedom rankings for a fourth year in a row, outperforming Hong Kong and other nations in the areas of sound economic governance and resilient competitiveness, according to The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Economic Freedom. The nation, which has a per capita gross domestic product surpassing those of most of the world's developing countries, demonstrates that economic growth and prosperity are the result of policies that preserve and advance economic freedom.
China's growth target for 2023 has been set at around 5%, a "cautious" target which missed investor expectations, however, the low starting point for this year could lead to faster growth if Beijing chose to pursue it. Instead, China's government is sending a clear message that a focus on economic stability, employment and stable inflation rates are higher priorities than returns for investors. Beijing is setting itself up to push along its economic transformation agenda and take on what it views as systemic risks by intensifying its "structural reforms" at some point this year.
President Xi Jinping offered to help the five central Asian republics with their security and defense capabilities at the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit, held in the Chinese city of Xi’an. The summit was also used to discuss strengthening economic and energy ties with countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Increasingly powerful China is likely to become further involved in the quest for influence over the resource-rich republics, which all enjoyed a better trading relationship with China over Russia or the G7 bloc last year. Meanwhile, China is cementing its role as Russia's principal economic partner, enabling it to side-step Western sanctions relating to the crisis in Ukraine.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has embarked on a two-day inspection tour in the eastern province of Shandong to assess how authorities can boost consumer confidence in the struggling Chinese market, following a release of lower-than-expected economic data. Li aims to boost spending and export orders, as well as improving purchasing policies for new-energy vehicles to stimulate consumption potential, particularly in rural areas. He is also promoting the Belt and Road Initiative to encourage Chinese businesses to develop customised products to expand international markets.
The president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, has warned of the presence of Russia's Wagner mercenaries in neighbouring countries Mali and Burkina Faso and urged Western investment in his country. Niger, which is rich in natural resources and minerals, produces seven percent of the world's uranium supply and is becoming a focus of Western interest as an African security and economic partner. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in April and the country's president met with Emmanuel Macron in Paris and attended King Charles’ coronation in London. Bazoum stated that despite their presence in the region, he would "certainly not invite" Wagner to Niger. The Libyan-owned Wagner Group engages in lucrative commercial ventures in Africa and has a widespread military presence in the region. Some proceeds go to funding its operations in Ukraine, estimated to cost $100m per month. Climate change has also had a severe impact on the region, making it vulnerable to Islamist extremist recruitment. Bazoum has urged Western companies to invest in Niger, stating there is little incoming investment from countries such as France and the UK.
Investors should look beyond a stumbling Chinese economy and take advantage of opportunities in retail and travel services, according to Tiffany Hsiao from Artisan Partners Asset Management. The rebound in China's economy looks to have been hit by the re-emergence of Covid, with consumer retail stocks leading the way down, and some are "completely overlooked", Hsiao said. She's more interested in platform advertising stocks, such as Focus Media Information Technology, and travel shares, arguing that Chinese consumers don't immediately jump back into discretionary spending as quickly as their American counterparts. Hsiao looks at alternative data to guide her decisions, including foot traffic in China's main cities, which suggests the economy is "recovering just fine".
‘Pierre Poilievre has decided to pander … leaving those of us disgusted by Justin Trudeau without a clear option.’ Conservative contrarians, plus other letters to the editor for May 19
Canadians must seek to protect their country from the violence and division that has become rife in America, according to a letter in the Globe and Mail. The missive’s writer, expat Don Gayton, wrote that Canada should attempt to understand the causes of the problems in the US so that the twin issues of violence and division do not come north over the border. In related comments, other respondents noted the gun laws which enable violence south of the border but are not in place in Canada, a division of political opinion which has no bearing on geography and a surge in anger in the right-wing conservative movement.
First Nation's potential stake in Sens purchase is 'reconciliation in action,' experts say
CBC
23-05-19 08:00
A potential financial partnership between the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg community and a group bidding to buy the Ottawa Senators could signal significant economic influence for Canada's Indigenous communities. Business people led by American rappers Snoop Dogg and Neko Sparks met with officials from Kitigan Zibi, who reportedly plan to meet with another bidding group. The Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe land is subject to an outstanding claim that encompasses LeBreton Flats, where the Senators are expected to base their arena. The partnership has been seen as a sign of the increasing sophistication of Indigenous business in Canada.
Fraud costs businesses and individuals across the world more than $5tn every year, according to research by financial-advisory firm Crowe and the University of Portsmouth. The figure amounts to nearly 60% of the annual global spend on healthcare. Lower-level financial scams add up to this colossal total beneath the high-profile scandals such as Theranos, which resulted in the recent conviction of founder Elizabeth Holmes, and Wirecard. Among the causes of fraud are greed, covering financial shortfalls, pressure to exceed growth expectations and “fake-it-till-you-make-it” accounting techniques in some tech startups. Fraudsters also take advantage of world events like the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as seen in the $80bn stolen from the US Paycheck Protection Programme. More should be done to encourage whistleblowers and to recognise the bravery of people exposing fraud, the article concludes.
