As investors across the globe continue to add to their positions in bonds (considered a safe-haven asset class), the U.S. and the U.K. are experiencing yield-curve inversions. Yield curves are typically upward sloping, as investors desire a higher compensation for the longer-term risk. Escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China, interest-rate cuts around the globe, and the release of…
Via BlackRock: Unprecedented policies will be needed to respond to the next economic downturn. Monetary policy is almost exhausted as global interest rates plunge towards zero or below. Fiscal policy on its own will struggle to provide major stimulus in a timely fashion given high debt levels and the typical lags with implementation. Without a
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In 2013, the International Monetary Fund produced a report acknowledging that it had “underestimated” the effects that austerity would have on Greece’s economy. Yet the Fund has made the same mistakes in its subsequent deals with Argentina and Ecuador.
As an idea that encapsulated the principles of equitable, broadly shared growth and meritocracy, the American Dream allowed the United States to become the world's premier economy. But in recent decades, the dream has ceased to be a reality, and more and more workers have fallen behind – possibly for good.
There are reasons to be concerned. The global economy is slowing. The US economy has slowed. Current policy (especially on trade) is a drag on growth. But I wouldn't freak out about the yield curve.In mid-1998 the spread between the 10 year and the 2 year went slightly negative, and a recession didn't start until 2001 - over 2 1/2 years later. Of course the Fed cut rates in 1998 - just like…
With global markets flashing concern about the fallout from the U.S.-China trade war and the near-term strength of the American economy, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday targeted Federal Reserve policy as the culprit for recent market turmoil.
From #MeToo to gender identity, the zeitgeist has never been more amenable to shattering stereotypes and correcting wrongs. Yet health care remains stuck in the past. Asha George, Chair of Health Systems Global, describes how discrimination in health systems can create dangerous gaps in care.
Europe works best, as the old quip has it, with the Russians out, the Germans down, and the Americans in. Today’s new European order has the Russians up, the Germans on the way down, the Americans potentially bowing out, Britons struggling toward Brexit – and France rising.
A government’s job is to protect its people from misfortune, in particular want of work, and one that abandons this duty of care to the market deserves to be cast out. This is the best argument for giving a government job-guarantee program a fair trial.
Added "Grows" to the headline. The story is about Δ, not absolute value. Sorry.
From the South China Morning Post:
Industrial
production – a measure of China’s industrial sectors including
manufacturing and mining – grew by just 4.8 per cent in July
Retail
sales, a key metric of consumption in the world’s most populous nation,
grew 7.6 per cent in July, down from 9.8 per cent growth in
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly SurveyMortgage applications increased 21.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 9, 2019.... The Refinance Index increased 37 percent from the previous week to its highest level since July 2016, and was 196…
Germany’s gross domestic product shrank 0.1% in the second quarter of the year, confirming the lackluster performance of the German economy hit by rising trade fears, the slowdown of Chinese imports and home-grown industrial and economic problems.
In the latest sign that the economic powerhouse of Europe is teetering on the edge of recession thanks to the trade war between the US and China, Germany's export-heavy economy shrank by 0.1% in the three months through June, according to official data published Wednesday by Destatis, the country's federal statistics office.
The disappointing economic data - the second contraction in four…
Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.2% in both the euro area (EA19) and in the EU28 during the second quarter of 2019, compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2019, GDP had grown by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU28.
In June 2019 compared with May 2019, seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 1.6% in the euro area (EA19) and by 1.5% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In May 2019, industrial production rose by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU28.
Gegenüber Juni 2018 ging die Industrieproduktion im Juni 2019 im Euroraum um 2,6%…