Economy news

China intends to increase the retail price of gasoline and diesel this week in response to rising international oil prices. Gasoline and diesel prices will go up by 250 yuan (US$37) per ton and 240 yuan (US$36) per ton, respectively.Some ...

The Federal Reserve places great store in consumer spending as a barometer of how hot the economy is running. US consumer spending dropped in December, providing evidence that the Fed’s series of interest rate increases are cooling the economy.On Friday, ...

High inflation and fears over a global recession have led to softening worldwide demand for smartphones, shipments of which have declined to a low not seen since 2013. Global smartphone shipments plunged in the fourth quarter of 2022, usually a big ...

The UK’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) survey for January showed the sharpest drop in business activity since COVID lockdowns two years ago, as the combination of high interest rates and low consumer demand dampened activity.The PMI reading fell to 47.8 ...

Home sales in the US are on a major decline. December marked the 11th straight monthly fall in sales of existing homes, the longest streak since 1999.Driven by the US Federal Reserve’s fastest interest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s, the ...

Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot, a Governing Council member of the European Central Bank (ECB), has said the central bank will carry on with half-point interest-rate increases at the next two meetings.In a recent interview, Knot said the time ...

Inflation is slowing in Canada, leading to hopes that an expected increase in interest rates next week may be the last one for some time.The consumer price index rose 6.3% in December from a year ago, down from 6.9% in ...

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) this week kept ultra-low interest rates intact, upsetting market projections that it would respond to rising inflationary pressure by erasing its stimulus program. The central bank also announced it would continue to cap bond yields.The ...

The price of everyday goods in Argentina has almost doubled in the last year as its annual inflation rate reached its highest level in over three decades.Official data reveals that consumer prices leapt by 94.8% in the 12 months to ...

China’s exports plunged this past December at the fastest rate since 2020. Imports also cooled, a warning sign that the country’s road to post-pandemic recovery will not be an easy one.Exports in the world’s second-largest economy dwindled 9.9% year-on-year in ...

The World Bank has warned in an annual report that the global economy will come “perilously close” to a recession this year. On the back of weak economic growth in the world’s top three economies – the US, Europe and ...

Cooling inflation has brought some respite in Europe, with price gains easing moderately. However, the cost of living is still high, even if the slowdown hints that weary consumers might be through the worst.The consumer price index in the Eurozone ...

Samsung Electronics is bracing for its worst fourth-quarter performance since 2014 after a marked drop in worldwide demand for memory chips and smartphones.Profits are expected to sink by 69% to $3.4 billion for the October-December period, the South Korean technology ...

Federal Reserve meeting minutes from last month have revealed the extent of the US central bank’s determination to tame inflation, with officials warning investors to expect interest rates to be kept high for some time. Before the meeting, markets expected interest ...

Tesla Inc. this week reported a record number of electric vehicle deliveries in a quarter. However, it still missed Wall Street estimates because of a combination of logistical challenges, softening demand, climbing interest rates, and jitters over a possible world ...