Tag: economic

Feb222018 by adminNo Comments

UK economic growth revised downwards

The UK economy expanded by less than previously thought in the last three months of 2017, official figures say.GDP grew by 0.4% in the October-to-December period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, down from the initial estimate of 0.5%.The revision was due to slower growth in production industries, the ONS said. In 2017 as a whole, the economy grew by 1.7%, also slightly lower than previously thought and the weakest since 2012.The ONS had previously estimated that the economy grew by 1.8% last year.The statistics body said that household spending grew by 1.8% last year, also the slowest annual rate since 2012. It said the slowdown was partly because of shoppers facing higher prices in stores."A number of very small revisions to mining, energy generation and service were enough...

Feb122018 by adminNo Comments

IMF’s Christine Lagarde praises the ‘courage’ of Arab countries undergoing economic reform

Finance

Changes in the world economy and the price of oil mean that many countries across the Arab world will need to undergo significant changes in order to survive, and those that are doing so should be praised, Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told CNBC."These countries have gone through a massive transition. Those that were exporting oil have clearly seen a big drop in their growth rates. But those economies have to transition from an oil-fed economy to a more diversified, more inclusive, reformed economy," Lagarde said at the World Government Summit in Dubai.Some countries are ahead of the game, she described, while others are working on reforms. "But certainly we will be seeing different countries in a few years' time, given where the price of...

Jan272018 by adminNo Comments

UK economic growth 'better than expected'

Business

The UK economy grew by a better than expected 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2017 but remains "slower and uneven", official figures show.Britain's performance in the October-December period was an improvement on the 0.4% rate seen in the previous quarter but still meant that for the year as a whole, growth was at its weakest since 2012.The pound, which in recent days has been trading at its highest levels since the Brexit vote, lifted by a cent to just under $ 1.43 in the wake of the figures.Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.8% in 2017, below the 1.9% pace seen in 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.ONS head of GDP Darren Morgan said: "Despite a slight uptick in the latest quarter, the underlying picture is of slower and uneven growth across the economy."He said the boo...

Jan152018 by adminNo Comments

Trump earns 'high marks' from UBS for his economic policies

Finance

Swiss bank UBS said Monday that President Donald Trump deserves praise for his pro-growth policies.Those efforts in making the U.S. a more business-friendly economy, which include the recently passed tax reform, are often under-appreciated, said Mike Ryan, UBS Wealth Management's chief investment officer for Americas. But the president has "changed the perception of what's possible in Washington," he said at the bank's client gathering in Singapore."I think prior to his election, the prospects of tax reform, of regulatory relief, or any sort of sensible approach to infrastructure were off the table," said Ryan, who added that Trump defied those expectations by getting the new tax bill passed.The president deserves "high marks" for his economic achievements so far, Ryan added.Before the bil...

Jan122018 by adminNo Comments

Trump target of petition to block his attendance at World Economic Forum

World

A Swiss group has started a petition to oppose President Donald Trump’s visit to the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month. Campax, described on its website as a “progressive” nongovernmental organization based in Zurich, launched the mostly symbolic campaign after the White House announced Trump would be the first sitting U.S. president to attend the elite gathering in 18 years. The campaigners also highlighted their disgust with the U.S. administration's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement and took issue with many of the White House's priorities. "U.S. President Donald Trump is on outstanding phrases with racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, misogyny, bellicosity, local climate modify denial, human legal rights ab