World Economy

Although South Africa avoided a downgrade to non-investment grade, or junk status, in 2016, the country is not yet out of the woods and may be downgraded this year. The reasons for this are…

Indonesia’s reform-minded finance minister seemed to invoke memories of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis this week when explaining why she came down so hard on JPMorgan Chase & Co for…

The International Monetary Fund’s chief has reassured German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble that the IMF plans to remain constructively engaged in talks about further aid for Greece, a…

Moody’s Analytics has forecast a higher output for the Philippine economy in the last quarter of 2016, with the projection set at 7.2%, Reuters reported. This figure is higher than the domestic…

Colombia, a country whose economy has enjoyed a rebirth since the economic catastrophe of 1999, is a nation full of optimism. This millennium, its GDP per capita has increased three-fold, poverty…

America has elected a would-be dictator as president, the European Union is disintegrating, UK Prime Minister Theresa May won’t last long as her nation prepares to secede from the EU, and China is…

The Singapore economy as a whole is on a steady path and at a stable level, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday at a forum jointly organized by the EDB Society and The Straits Times.

Japan is threatening to take India to the World Trade Organization over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to the South Asian nation over the past year, a step that could trigger…

China’s economy, the world’s second largest, grew 6.7% year on year in 2016, the slowest pace of growth in 26 years but still within the government’s target range set for the year, official data…

Zimbabwe’s tax agency missed revenue target for 2016 by 4% after collecting $3.4 billion against a target of $3.6 billion due to poor performance of the economy, Xinhua reported. The $3.4 billion…

The global rating agency kept the sovereign foreign currency credit rating at ‘AA’, local currency rating at ‘AA+’, and short-term rating at ‘A-1’, with a stable outlook, saying the nation…

Japan will seek to achieve a balanced economic expansion by setting in motion a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution, Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday, as he called for swift Diet…

With oil at $40 per barrel, last year Russia had a current account surplus and a small budget deficit, which points to the fact that the country’s economy has adapted well not only to the low oil…

The Philippine central bank is tightening its surveillance of money-remittance firms to ensure they would not be used to launder dirty money and facilitate terrorist financing.

With monetary policy still modestly accommodative, the US central bank should continue to raise interest rates slowly to keep jobs plentiful and inflation low, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen…

UK retail sales fell at the fastest pace in almost five years in December as rising prices saw consumers buy less of everything from household goods to clothing and food, Bloomberg reported. The…

Egypt’s revenues from Suez Canal trade slumped in December to register $414.4 million compared to $429.2 million for the same period in the previous year, according to data from the Suez Canal…

Morocco’s annual consumer price inflation eased to 1.6% in December from 1.9% in November due to a slowing in non-food price rises, the High Planning Authority said on Friday, Reuters reported.…

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs approved 3,414 foreign direct investment projects (except from China) with a total value of $11.037 billion in 2016, respectively decreasing 9.90% and…

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi Thursday announced the institution’s monetary policy would remain unchanged and asked for more patience as the economic recovery continues. 

Business confidence in the Middle East Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman) remained subdued in Q4 2016, with 51% of firms reporting that they…

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017, ministers of G20 countries called on members to continue on the path of inclusive growth, warning against protectionism. 

Tackling unemployment among young Saudis will be one of the toughest challenges the region’s largest economy will face this year, according to an International Monetary Fund official on Wednesday…

The director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has called for global action to tackle a middle-class crisis, warning that inequality, distrust of the elites and a lack of hope…

The Scottish economy grew by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2016, according to Scottish government statistics, BBC reported. The previous three months was found to have the same rate of growth,…