The WorldPost spoke with Sergey Aleksahenko, former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank.
02/20/2016 08:01 am ET | Updated 2 hours ago
THe Huffington Post
The World Post
Alexandra Ma
Editorial Fellow, The Huffington Post
Russia is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since 2008.
The country's economic output declined by 3.7 percent in 2015 and is projected to decrease by a further 1 percent in 2016, according to International Monetary Fund estimates published in January. Inflation soared to 15.4 percent in 2015, compared with 7.8 percent in 2014.
The decline is partly the result of the international sanctions imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Large trade and investment partners, including the European Union and the United States, cut off Russia's access to foreign loans and capital markets and froze assets belonging to high-level Russians.
"Ό,τι η ψυχή επιθυμεί, αυτό και πιστεύει." Δημοσθένης (Whatever the soul wishes, thats what it believes, Demosthenes)
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Cheap Cigarettes Are Burning Greece's Finances
By Nikos
Chrysoloras
February 8,
2016 — 2:01 AM EET
On an
unremarkable morning on Stournari
street in downtown Athens , just a few blocks away from the
epicenter of every riot the city has seen during its recent crisis years, two
men of Asian origin politely and openly hawk cigarettes to passersby.
The illegal
packs of R.G.D.-branded smokes cost 1.50 euros ($1.70) each, less than half the
price of 20 Marlboros or Prince at one of Greece ’s ubiquitous street kiosks.
As Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras walks another tightrope between creditor demands for
additional belt tightening and a social backlash, the scene exposes an
unhealthy truth: Greeks could smoke, drink and gamble their way out of their
next financial hole, if only they were taxed on all of it.
Monday, February 1, 2016
BofA: The Oil Crash Is Kicking Off One of the Largest Wealth Transfers In Human History
A $3
trillion shift year from oil producers
to global consumers.
Joe Weisenthal
TheStalwart
February 1, 2016 — 4:49 AM EET
Bloomberg
Economists
are still hotly debating whether the oil crash has been a net positive for
advanced economies.
Optimists
argue that cheap oil is a good thing for consumers and commodity-sensitive
businesses, while pessimists point to the hit to energy-related investment and
possible spillover into the financial system.
A new note
from Francisco Blanch at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, however, puts the oil
move into a much bigger perspective, arguing that a sustained price plunge
"will push back $3 trillion a year from oil producers to global consumers,
setting the stage for one of the largest transfers of wealth in human
history."
Blanch and
his team already see evidence that the fall in the price of crude is having a
positive impact on demand, and say that it could accelerate even further if
prices don't pick up.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
As Taiwan’s Workers Flock to China, Concerns About Economy Grow
By AUSTIN RAMZYJAN. 13, 2016
The New
York Times
But costs
rose and orders dried up, and they closed up shop in 2011. A few years later,
Mr. Lee left Taiwan for
mainland China , where he was
hired to run an animation studio in the city of Qingdao . Five months ago, he started his own
studio there. He has 20 employees, a number he hopes to double after the
Chinese New Year next month — growth he could not have imagined in Taiwan .
Saturday, January 9, 2016
A New Economic Era for China Goes Off the Rails
By KEITH
BRADSHERJAN. 7, 2016
The New
York Times
HONG KONG —
When President Xi Jinping of China
convened a group of top officials to discuss the economy last month, the highly
publicized meeting was seen as a moment of triumph.
A stock
market plunge last summer, and a messy currency devaluation that followed, had
faded from global view. In the relative calm, he seemed to usher in a new era
of economic management, promising policy coordination at the highest levels to
prevent another bout of turmoil.
Less than
three weeks later, his plans have been derailed as China ’s stock market and currency
once again rattle investors around the world. The latest rout sets up a
challenge for Mr. Xi, who has positioned himself as the master of the country’s
economy.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Stocks Fall Sharply on China Slowdown Worries
Stoxx
Europe 600 falls 2.2%, led by 3.3% drop in Frankfurt ’s
exporter-heavy DAX index
The Wall
Street Journal
By RIVA
GOLD
Jan. 4,
2016 4:20 a.m. ET
1 COMMENTS
Global
stocks sold off sharply on the first trading day of 2016 following fresh signs
of an economic slowdown in China .
Weaker-than-expected
manufacturing data and a falling currency triggered declines in mainland
Chinese stocks so steep that authorities halted trading there for the rest of
the day.
European
stocks also fell sharply, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 2.2% in early trade,
led by a 3.3% drop in Germany ’s
exporter-heavy DAX index.
Friday, September 4, 2015
The euro area's uninspiring recovery
Sep 2nd
2015, 13:29 BY P.W. | LONDON
Economist
EARLIER
this year, a genuine revival in the euro area appeared to be under way.
European equity markets were buoyant and consumers had become more confident.
The recovery, which had been faltering and feeble since the spring of 2013,
looked set to accelerate. That bout of optimism has proved fleeting and there
is now increasing doubt about whether the euro area can pull itself out of a
rut of low inflation and sluggish growth. The European Central Bank (ECB) is
not expected to act on September 3rd when its governing council meets. But it
may well indicate a preparedness to provide more stimulus, if necessary.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Get Receipts, Win a Car: How Greece’s VAT Lottery Plan Worked in Portugal
By PATRICIA KOWSMANN
The Wall
Street Journal
To know if
at least one of these measures work, take a look at Portugal .
Since April
last year, the Portuguese government has been running a raffle for people who
demand receipts for the goods and services they buy, thereby forcing those
businesses to pay value-added taxes. The result? More than 40 lucky Portuguese
are now in the possession of a brand new Audi. And revenue from VAT has risen
more than 4%, or €563 million ($611 million), while private consumption rose
just 2%.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
What Greece Has to Do Now: Fix Its Economy
Michael G. Jacobides
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
After weeks
of media frenzy around the Greek election and the new government’s
once-ambitious plans to renegotiate with the Eurozone over its debt crisis, the
searchlights of publicity are shifting. For all of its bravado, Greece was
pushed into a corner in an eleventh-hour deal that will extend a bailout
agreement for four more months. And although it has been given a temporary
lifeline, little has been resolved.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Economy,
Greek Crisis,
Structural Reforms
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
GREECE'S FUTURE IS ITS PAST
Posted by
Rebecca Harding on Feb 23rd 2015,
A deal was
done at the last minute: Greece ’s
€172bn debt bailout was extended for a further four months after a turbulent
week of bluff and counterbluff. Even now, there are no formal agreements on the
required reform process ahead and without these agreements the deal will not be
ratified. It appears that the Greek government is keen to demonstrate its
willingness to reform by focusing on tax evasion and civil service reform, but it
is unlikely that this will be sufficient for either Germany or the ECB.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
What Good Are Economists?
Robert J.
Shiller
NEW HAVEN –
Since the global financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009, criticism of the
economics profession has intensified. The failure of all but a few professional
economists to forecast the episode – the aftereffects of which still linger –
has led many to question whether the economics profession contributes anything
significant to society. If they were unable to foresee something so important
to people’s wellbeing, what good are they?
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Gold Rises to Highest Since October as U.S. Rate Outlook Weighed
By Laura
Clarke and Glenys Sim Jan 13, 2015 12:23
PM GMT+0200
Bloomberg
Gold
extended gains to the highest in almost 12 weeks as investors assessed the
timing of higher borrowing costs and the strength of the U.S. economy amid slumping oil
prices. Silver climbed to a four-week high.
Bullion
rose for a third day after U.S.
data last week showed falling incomes even as hiring accelerated. Fed Bank of
San Francisco President John Williams has said raising rates in June would be a
close call amid “strong momentum” in the labor market and weaker wage gains.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Euro sinks to fresh nine-year low
BBC
8 January
2015 Last updated at 15:52 GMT
The euro
has hit a fresh nine-year low against the dollar, in part after a surprise
decrease in German manufacturing.
German
factory orders fell by 2.4% in November compared with the previous month, worse
than expected.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
China's Economy: Don’t Bet on Beijing
A recent
report makes clear the enormous challenges facing China ’s economy.
The
Diplomat
http://thediplomat.com/2014/12/chinas-economy-dont-bet-on-beijing/
By Sam
Winter-Levy
December
02, 2014
The
Financial Times recently reported that China has wasted nearly $7 trillion
since the global financial crisis. According to research by China ’s state
planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, “ineffective
investment” made up nearly half the total amount invested in the Chinese
economy since 2009. The soaring ranks of empty skyscrapers and residential
complexes that crowd the skylines of so many of China’s third- and fourth-tier
cities are the most obvious sign of this prodigality, although alongside extraordinary
levels of misallocated capital, billions of dollars of post-crisis stimulus has
simply disappeared into the opaque pockets of Communist Party officials.
Following the widely hailed conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum earlier this month in Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping
insisted once again on a “new type of great-power relations” between the United
States and a rising China, these reports of waste on an immense scale should be
a salutary reminder of the extent of the challenges the Chinese Communist Party
faces before any supposedly inevitable transition of global power takes place.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Greece Expects Primary Budget Surplus for 2015
But
Spending Plans Not Agreed with Creditors
The Wall
Street Journal
By STELIOS
BOURAS and ALKMAN GRANITSAS
Updated
Nov. 21, 2014 7:03 a.m. ET
0 COMMENTS
Labels:
Economy,
Greece,
Greek Crisis,
Primary surplus,
Troika
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Why the run on banks?
Bulgaria
Jul 1st
2014, 17:32 by G.K. | SOFIA
IN A
country struggling with rampant corruption, a weak judiciary and unstable
government, the Bulgarian banking system has consistently won praise for its
stable institutions, high liquidity and low risk. In the past few weeks that
system has come under attack in the worst run on banks in 17 years.
The central
bank said runs on First Investment Bank (FIB) and Corporate Commercial Bank
(CCB), the country’s third and fourth largest lenders, in the past two weeks
were part of a “deliberate and systematic attempt to destabilise Bulgaria 's
banking system”. According to the authorities, criminals tried to disrupt the
system by sending e-mails and text messages urging people to withdraw their funds
from several large banks.
Monday, June 16, 2014
China economic clout good for U.S.: Column
Ted C.
Fishman 4:05 p.m. EDT June 15, 2014
Instead of
feeling threatened, Chinese buying power can help us and improve relations.
Early this
spring, the World Bank announced that, by one measure, the size of the Chinese
economy at the end of 2011 was nearly equal to that of the U.S. and, this
year, it will be bigger. Americans are fearful of China lately. A bigger economy
seems to be giving China
sharper elbows. The Asian giant has been pressing territorial demands. China 's
military supports cyber spies who steal American industrial secrets. China 's President Xi Jinping warns the U.S. in speeches that America
will get burned if America
stymies China 's
assertion of its goals.
Should
Americans feel threatened? Surprised?
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
A Plan to Revitalize Greece Harvard Business Review
By
Alexander S. Kritikos Jun 9, 2014 3:00
PM GMT+0300
Bloomberg
In that
regard, Greece
finds itself at a crossroads. It can improve its competitiveness by reducing
costs in its traditional sectors, such as tourism, agriculture, and trade. Or
it can aim higher – by laying the groundwork for higher value-added goods
production.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Greek current account deficit shrinks in March
Thu May 22, 2014 4:21am EDT
shrank in
March from the same month last year, according to
balance of
payments figures released by the central bank on
Thursday.
The deficit stood at 44 million euros
($60.12 million) from
1.24
billion euros in March 2013.
Tourism revenues rose to 195 million euros
in March from 151
million in
the same month in 2013.
***************************************************************
KEY FIGURES (bln euros) 2014 2013
January -0.295 -0.314
February -0.709 -0.684
March -0.044 -1.241
-------------------------------------------------
source: Bank of Greece
($1 =
0.7318 Euros)
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by
Karolina
Tagaris)
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
China economic growth slows to 18-month low in first-quarter
BY ADAM
ROSE AND XIAOYI SHAO
BEIJING Wed Apr 16, 2014 2:29am EDT
(Reuters) -
China 's economy grew at its
slowest pace in 18 months at the start of 2014, but did a touch better than
expected and showed some improvement in March, suggesting Beijing will not rush to follow up recent
steps to support activity.
Authorities
have ruled out major stimulus to fight short-term dips in growth, signaling the
slowdown was an expected consequence of their reform drive, even as some
analysts think the economy will lose further momentum.
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