Economic growth in Europe came in at zero in the second quarter of 2014. That’s better than being in recession. But it’s not the growth that Europe — with its huge unemployment rate of 12 percent, or roughly 19,130,000 people out of work — needs. The eurozone (below in blue) has been in a depression … Continue reading
The U.S. economy contracted at a worse pace than previously estimated in the first quarter, marking its sharpest pullback since the recession ended five years ago. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of … Continue reading
The Greek economy shrank by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of the year on a 12-month basis, Greece’s statistics agency said on Thursday. The data, unadjusted for seasonal factors showed that output by the bailed out economy “decreased by 1.1 percent in comparison with the first quarter of 2013,” the ELSTAT agency said. Based … Continue reading
On Wednesday, the International Comparison Program, a statistical project coordinated by the World Bank, announced new data on the size of economies by purchasing power parity that suggests China’s economy is bigger than previously thought. But the latest news is anything but surprising. Regular GDP power rankings are compiled by converting a country’s gross domestic product into … Continue reading
China’s economic achievement is so enormous, indeed literally without parallel in human history, that it is sometimes difficult for people to take in its scale. A country which in 1978, when “reform and opening up” was launched, was one of the poorest in the world, has now reached a point where it has a higher … Continue reading
Euro area GDP down by 0.2% and EU27 down by 0.1% and -1.0% and -0.7% respectively compared with the first quarter of 2012 GDP fell by 0.2% in the euro area1 (EA17) and by 0.1% in the EU271 during the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates2 published by Eurostat, … Continue reading
The figures from the Office for National Statistics are much worse than forecasts for a 0.2pc contraction. It marks the third successive quarter of contraction, leaving Britain in its longest double-dip recession in more than 50 years. The economy shrank by 0.3pc in the first quarter of the year, following a 0.4pc contraction in the … Continue reading
China’s growth rate slowed for a sixth successive quarter to its slackest pace in more than three years, highlighting the need for more policy vigilance from Beijing even as signs emerge that action taken so far is beginning to stabilize the economy. Year-on-year growth of 7.6 percent in the second quarter was a whisker above … Continue reading
Profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments) , in contrast to an increase of $16.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Current-production cash flow (net cash flow with inventory valuation adjustment) — the internal funds available to corporations for investment — decreased $123.9 billion in the first quarter, in contrast … Continue reading
The economy grew slightly faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter and a gauge of factory activity in the Midwest hit a 10 month-high in February, pointing to underlying strength in the economy. Gross domestic product expanded at a 3 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010, the Commerce … Continue reading
The GDP data revealed a worrying 5.6% decline in business investment in the last quarter of 2011 Let’s hope the euphoria that greeted last week’s economic data lasts longer than the cheers England’s footballers can expect this summer when the European championships get underway. There is nothing more traditional than football supporters putting hope ahead … Continue reading
The euro zone’s service sector shrank unexpectedly this month, reviving fears that the economy risks sinking into recession, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Markit’s Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 from January’s 50.4, missing even the lowest forecast in a Reuters poll of 44 economists whose predictions centred on a rise … Continue reading
Provisional estimates show that quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the OECD area decelerated sharply to 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011, against 0.6% in the third quarter. Source: oecd.org Quarterly National Accounts – GDP Growth – Fourth Quarter 2011, OECD.
Italy’s central bank chief on Saturday predicted that the eurozone’s third-largest economy will see a return to growth next year, but he confirmed forecasts that 2012 will be a “year of recession.” Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco also described Italian banks as being sound in terms of having adequate capital, but cautioned that the … Continue reading
The Greek economy shrank nearly 7% in 2011, the fifth straight year the country has been in a recession. GDP has shriveled by a sixth since 2006, and unemployment has tripled over that period to 20%. With new rounds of austerity just announced, and a default yet to come, the nightmare isn’t even close to … Continue reading