Tag: economy

IMF warns of ongoing financial risks following banking turmoil

Washington, United States | AFP | Tuesday 4/4/2023  The recent banking turmoil in the United States and Europe could spread to crucial non-bank institutions like pension funds, further complicating central banks’ fight against high inflation, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. Banking risks “could intensify in coming months amid the continued tightening of monetary policy globally,” and spread to the interconnected non-bank sector, which now holds almost half of all global financial assets, IMF economists […]

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Troubled investment bank China Renaissance suspends share trading

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Investment bank China Renaissance suspended trading in its Hong Kong-listed shares on Monday, saying the disappearance of its chairman meant it was unable to publish its annual results. Bao Fan, the group’s billionaire chairman and executive director, went missing in February and was later revealed to be “cooperating” in an official investigation — sparking fears of a renewed crackdown on China’s finance sector. The bank, which specializes in the Chinese tech […]

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Squeezed by high costs, US tenants grapple with eviction

  Alexandria, United States | AFP | Sunday 4/2/2023 by Beiyi SEOW For nearly eight years, driving for a ride-hailing platform and making deliveries helped Laine Carolyn pay her bills — but a sudden deterioration in health forced her to stop work and fall behind on rent. Carolyn, 32, is among an increased number of US tenants confronting eviction risks in the face of high inflation, elevated rents and with the end of pandemic-era aid. […]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin says sanctions could have ‘negative’ impact on Russia

  President Vladimir Putin conceded Wednesday that sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine could bring about “negative” consequences for the country, after insisting Moscow was adapting to the penalties. “The sanctions imposed against the Russian economy in the medium term could really have a negative impact,” Putin said in a televised meeting with the government. Western capitals have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow after Putin launched his operation in Ukraine over a […]

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Vietnam’s robusta: the go-to coffee bean in a warmer world?

by Tran Minh Thi Ha, and Alice Philipson in Hanoi Agence France-Presse GIA LAI, Vietnam (AFP) — Bitter and earthy. Fit for instant brews only. Robusta coffee has a dire reputation, but a small group of farmers in Vietnam is trying to turn the bean’s fortunes around as a warming world threatens the industry. As an interior designer in trendy Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, 42, largely stayed clear of Vietnamese coffee, […]

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Biden kicks off campaign touting US economy

DURHAM, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden launched a new drive Tuesday to promote a major theme of his expected reelection campaign, touting what he said was a resurgence of US manufacturing — and warning Republicans could tank the economy. “I’ve been determined to make things in this country again, to build American manufacturing capacity,” Biden said at Wolfspeed, a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Durham, North Carolina, that recently announced a $5 billion expansion. […]

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Germany braces for transport ‘mega-strike’

by Deborah COLE Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Transport staff across Germany are set to stage a major strike on Monday to push for wage hikes in the face of brisk inflation, as passengers brace for serious disruptions. Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe’s top economy are expected to heed a call by the Verdi and EVG unions to the 24-hour walkout. “A labour struggle that has […]

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Japan inflation slows to 3.1% in February

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in February from a year earlier, government data showed Friday, slowing from the four-decade highs seen in previous months. The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food, met market expectations and comes after the government introduced relief measures for soaring energy bills. It is the first deceleration in over a year and marks a drop from January, when consumer prices jumped 4.2 percent on-year — the […]

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Brazil’s Lula irks foreign oil companies with new tax

by Marcelo SILVA DE SOUSA Agence France-Presse BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has not even been in power for 100 days but has already provoked the wrath of foreign oil companies with the creation of a new tax on crude exports. Multinationals Repsol, TotalEnergies, Shell, Equinor and Galp have petitioned a federal court to suspend the 9.2 percent tax due to run from March to July and announced by […]

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Ukraine conflict to dominate Putin, Xi talks

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping were set to hold a second day of talks on Tuesday, as the internationally isolated Russian leader said he was open to discussing China’s proposals on the fighting in Ukraine. Xi’s three-day visit to Moscow is a major coup for Putin — and comes days after a war crimes tribunal in The Hague issued a warrant for the Russian president’s arrest over accusations of unlawfully deporting […]

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Sweden rediscovers poverty as inflation soars

  Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | by Viken KANTARCI It’s not yet 6 am and dozens of homeless people are already queuing outside Stockholm’s central station for breakfast, their numbers bigger than ever, charities say. Hit by the highest inflation in more than 30 years and poised for recession, Sweden’s visible signs of poverty are mounting amid rising inequality. “So many people are coming here to breakfast,” said Kavian Ferdowsi who runs a charity helping […]

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Argentina inflation exceeds 100%

Inflation in Argentina came in at 102.5 percent in the 12 months to February, exceeding the symbolic triple-digit mark and reaching a new 32-year high. Latin America’s third largest economy saw inflation grow 6.6 percent in the month of February and 13.1 percent since the beginning of the year, the Indec national statistics institute said. Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. In 2022, it reached 94.8 percent, the country’s highest […]

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