Tag: growth

World Bank slashes China growth forecast over Covid damage

  by Beiyi Seow Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The World Bank has sharply slashed its annual growth forecast for China, warning in a report Wednesday that Covid disruptions could further slow recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid policy, using rapid lockdowns, mass testing and strict movement restrictions to eliminate outbreaks — but it has tangled supply chains and dragged economic indicators to their […]

China premier issues warning on Covid-hit economy

by Beiyi SEOW China’s premier has sounded an unusually stark warning about the world’s second-largest economy, saying it must return to normal as the country’s zero-Covid strategy bites into growth. China is the last major economy welded to a policy of mass testing and hard lockdowns to eliminate virus clusters, but the strict curbs have battered businesses. Restrictions around the nation in recent months — including on the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Shanghai as […]

War in Ukraine could halve 2022 global trade growth: WTO

  by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Russia’s war in Ukraine could almost halve world trade growth this year and drag down global GDP growth too, the World Trade Organization projected Monday. The WTO said that the Russian invasion had not only created a humanitarian crisis of “immense proportions” but had also dealt a “severe blow” to the global economy. It also said that in the longer term, the conflict could […]

PHL economy grows by 7.7 percent in 4th quarter of 2021 despite Delta variant, super typhoon Odette impact

PHL posts 5.6 percent overall growth based on GDP for whole year of 2021   (Eagle News) – The Philippine economy grew further last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the highly debilitating Delta variant, as gross domestic product posted a growth of 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter. Because of this, the country’s GDP posted an over-all growth of 5.6 percent for the whole year of 2021, according to the latest data from the […]

Lockdowns sink Australian economy in third quarter

  by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Pandemic-induced lockdowns caused Australia’s economy to shrink 1.9 percent in the third quarter, a downturn that bucked the trend of a steady recovery in other wealthy nations. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported the country’s second quarterly contraction since the pandemic began — and one of the largest contractions on record — sparked by long-running containment measures in populous states. Sydney, Melbourne […]

Lockdowns cause Australian economy to shrink

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Lockdowns and border controls shrank Australia’s economy by 1.9 percent in the third quarter, official statistics showed Wednesday, a decline more modest than expected but worse than in many other wealthy nations. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the quarterly downturn — the first since it contracted at the start of the pandemic in the first half of 2020 — was due to “extended lockdowns” in the country’s most populous states. […]

PHL economic managers’ full statement on strong 3rd quarter performance of PHL economy this 2021

(Eagle News) — Below is the full joint statement of the economic managers of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte on the Philippine Economic Performance of the Third Quarter of 2021 issued on Nov. 9, 2021 President Duterte’s economic managers include Socio-Economic Planning and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Karl Kendrick T. Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, and Budget And Management Officer-In-Charge Tina Rose Marie L. Canda ===================================================== Colleagues in government, friends […]

IMF warns supply snarls slowing global recovery

by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Worldwide supply chain disruptions are driving price increases and draining momentum out of economies recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, the IMF warned on Tuesday. The ongoing hit from the pandemic and the failure to distribute vaccines worldwide is worsening the economic divide and darkening prospects for developing nations, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook. The global economy is expected to grow 5.9 percent this […]

Singapore lifts GDP forecast as export markets get vaccine boost

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore on Wednesday upgraded its growth forecast for this year as the trade-reliant economy’s key export markets pick up strength thanks to rapid coronavirus vaccine rollouts. The prosperous city-state, one of the world’s most open economies, suffered its worst ever recession last year as it was hammered by the pandemic. But stronger overseas demand is helping to power a rebound, which is being closely watched as Singapore is seen as a […]

Philippine economy rebounds in Q2 but faces ‘speed bumps’

Growth in 2nd quarter fastest in more than three decades   MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippine economy grew in the second quarter at its fastest pace in more than three decades, but an official warned Tuesday of “speed bumps” as coronavirus restrictions were tightened to combat surging infections. Gross domestic product expanded 11.8 percent on-year, the statistics agency said, after five straight quarters of contraction. The increase — the best since the last three […]

UK economy shrank 1.5% in first quarter: official data

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s economy contracted by 1.5 percent in the first quarter as the country suffered a fresh coronavirus lockdown, official data showed on Wednesday. The UK however is currently exiting lockdown at a gradual pace, allowing the economy to recover from pandemic fallout. “As we cautiously reopen the economy, I will continue to take all the steps necessary to support our recovery,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said in reaction to the […]

Japan’s economy shrank more than estimated in Q2

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy shrank slightly more than initially thought in the April-June quarter, official data released Tuesday showed, deepening a contraction that was already the worst in the nation’s modern history. The world’s third-largest economy shrank 7.9 percent in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter, more than the initial 7.8 percent in the preliminary data, the Cabinet Office said. The downward revision comes with corporate investment weaker […]