Fiscal Study

U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows Unexpectedly

2008-07-01T18:39:13Z

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in March on a record plunge in the value of imports, even as average oil prices surged to a new record, according to the Commerce Department, The International Herald Tribune reports:

The trade gap shrank to $58.2 billion in March, down 5.7 percent from a revised estimate of $61.7 billion in February. Wall Street analysts had expected the March gap to narrow to $61.3 billion. A $6.1 billion drop in the value of imports to $206.7 billion was the biggest on record. It was also the biggest percentage drop since December 2001, only months after the attacks on the United States and when the U.S. economy was in a downturn.

Read it all.

China's Economy Set to Cool, Official Index Chart Indicates

2008-07-01T17:55:23Z

China's economy had been slowed to expand at a more desirable and moderate rate for the five months to May, according to an official macro economy index chart, the national statistics agency reports:

The macro economy index chart, filed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed the latest figure for May was 113.3, the same as the previous four months, making a row of "green lights".

Read it all.

Paulson Says U.S. Welcomes Rubles

2008-07-01T17:42:06Z

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appealed for Russia to invest its oil riches in the dampened U.S. economy, during the first Kremlin visit by a senior U.S. official following the accession of President Dmitry Medvedev.
Paulson, in his first visit to Russia since being appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush two years ago, told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the White House, "We very much welcome your investment."

Read it all.

Malaysia Seeks Assurances of Rice Supplies From Thailand

2008-06-06T16:43:12Z

Malaysia sought assurances from Thailand, the world's largest rice exporter, on Thursday that it will continue to supply the grain amid worries over shortages and sharply rising prices, International Business Times reports:

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said rice supply was a key issue in a meeting between Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his Malaysian counterpart, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The leaders discussed "how to strengthen our cooperation to ensure food security in the region," Samak told a joint news conference after the talks.

Read it all.

South Africa's Economy

2008-06-06T16:28:30Z

South African growth is already being affected by electricity shortages and a slowdown in consumer demand. The annual figure may fall below 4% for the first time in five years, The Economist reports:

Power shortages and continued interest rate rises are beginning to affect economic growth. According to the latest figures from Statistics South Africa the economy grew by just 2.1% in the first three months of 2008—less than half the rate of the previous quarter (5.3%) and the lowest quarterly rate in six years.

Read it all.

Medvedev Plugging CIS on First Trip

2008-05-25T20:03:21Z

Dmitry Medvedev said that strengthening Russia's ties with other former Soviet republics would be a priority of his presidency, presenting one of the first planks of his foreign policy after taking office two weeks ago, The Moscow Times reports:
"Medvedev spoke following a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana, his first stop on his first foreign trip as president. He will wrap up the trip in Beijing over the weekend."

Read it all.

Details of Economic Stimulus Package

2008-05-10T09:39:14Z

President George W. Bush signed into law an economic stimulus package that is aimed at staving off a recession by offering tax rebates and incentives to businesses to invest, Reuters reports:
"Here are some details of the plan:
* The total package is worth about $168 billion over two years, roughly 1 percent of U.S. economic output, and will add directly to the U.S. federal deficit."

Read it all.

Turkish Investment in Africa to Hit $1 Billion

2008-05-09T11:20:19Z

Steps taken after the Turkish government declared 2005 the "Year of Africa" for foreign trade have so far proven fruitful, and the "Africa strategy" devised by the undersecretary for foreign trade has triggered an increasing interest in the continent, TUSKON reports:

As a consequence Turkish investments in Africa started climbing in a steadily increasing trend and are estimated to reach $1 billion in total by the end of this year.

Read it all.

The Monetary Realist - It’s Not Just About

2008-05-07T15:59:08Z

Financial panics are indeed dramatic and, for many private individuals and economic policymakers, traumatic. They are rarely of lasting significance to the fate of nations or their
currencies, however, as the prompt recovery of Korea, Mexico, and Russia from their travails a decade ago demonstrates—as indeed does the lack of any lasting impact from the United States’ closing of the “gold window” on the dollar’s standing or on U.S. economic performance, Adam S. Posen, the Deputy Director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics writes:

Though such calm is difficult to maintain while the United States experiences a panic in its many interlocking asset-backed securities markets, following years of large current
account deficits and a concurrent sell-off of the dollar against the euro, it would be a mistake to read too much into recent developments.

Read it all.

Dollar Rises Most Against Euro Since March on Fed, Jobs Report

2008-05-04T08:05:53Z

The dollar rose the most against the euro since March and reached a two-month high versus the yen as traders bet the Federal Reserve will stop cutting interest rates and the U.S. lost fewer jobs in April than economists forecast, Bloomberg reports:

The currency appreciated versus the Swiss franc, the Swedish krona and the South Korean won this week after the Fed cut the target lending rate by a quarter-percentage point on April 30 and said ``substantial'' easing since September would help foster economic growth. The euro weakened as confidence among European executives and consumers fell in April.

Read it all.

Asia to Seek Ways to Fight Inflation, Cooling Growth

2008-05-02T07:45:35Z

Rising food and commodity prices that are stoking inflation will probably dominate a meeting of the Asian Development Bank as the region's finance ministers seek ways to shield their economies from higher costs, Bloomberg reports:

Japan's Fukushiro Nukaga, China's Xie Xuren, South Korea's Kang Man Soo and Southeast Asian ministers are meeting at the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's annual gathering in Madrid this weekend. Inflation in Asia is expected to reach a decade-high this year even as economic growth cools, ADB predicts.

Read it all.

Lending Will Remain Tight for a While

2008-05-01T14:36:41Z

Cash may be easier to come by for banks, but lending will still be under tremendous pressure, hitting consumers, businesses and the economy as a whole, International Herald Tribune reports:

That tightness in credit could itself hit banks' assets with another round of losses, setting the stage for yet another liquidity crisis.
Investors have become more optimistic recently, and with some grounds.

Read it all.

Existing Home Sales Fall in March

2008-04-24T05:26:31Z

Sales of existing homes fell in March, the seventh drop in the past eight months, as the spring sales season got off to a rocky start, Associated Press reports:

The median price of a home was down compared with a year ago, and some economists predicted home prices could keep falling for many more months given all the troubles weighing on housing, from a severe credit crunch to a rising tide of foreclosures.

Read it all.

Canadian Housing Starts Rebound: CMHC

2008-04-22T15:17:36Z

Housing starts were up for January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 222,700 units, compared to 184,700 units in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures, CBC News reports:

A seasonally adjusted annual rate measures monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
"Historically low mortgage rates, solid employment and income growth as well as a high level of consumer confidence continue to underpin the high level of housing starts," chief economist Bob Dugan said in a news release.

Read it all.

ADB Senior Official Says Era of Cheap Food Over

2008-04-22T14:58:07Z

A senior official of the Asian Development Bank said that high food prices will be a long-term trend.

"We all have to reconcile with the fact that the era of cheap food is over," ADB Managing Director General Rajat Nag was quoted by Kyodo as telling reporters in Singapore.

Read it all.