
BEIJING: China eked out 2.3 percent economic growth in 2020, likely becoming the only major economy to expand as shops and factories reopened relatively early from a shutdown to fight the coronavirus while the United States, Japan and Europe struggled with rising infections.Growth in the three mon
FRANKFURT: The German economy, Europe’s largest, shrank by 5 percent in the pandemic year 2020, ending a decade of growth as lockdowns wiped out much business and consumer activity. As dreary as they were, the numbers suggest consumers could be ready to unleash a strong recovery when the lid
Mexico City’s ban on single-use plastic has affected businesses as they struggle to stay afloat during the pandemic. According to data, the city with about nine million inhabitants churns out 13,000 tons of solid waste daily. The new rule bans the use of disposable plastic items like cutle
WASHINGTON: US employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 positions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and businesses.At the same time, the unemployment rate stayed at 6.7 percent, the first time it
The World Bank has forecast that economic activity in the Middle East and North Africa will recover modestly to 2.1 percent this year, but it predicted that any recovery is dependent on the containment of the pandemic, no further escalation in geopolitical tensions and stabilization of oil prices.
BEIJING: The New York Stock Exchange has withdrawn plans to remove shares of three Chinese state-owned phone carriers under an order by President Donald Trump that Beijing warned might lead to retaliation.The exchange cited “further consultation” with regulators but its announcement la
The UK economy could grow by 8 per cent in 2021 – the highest jump since the Second World War - as the country recovers from the pandemic-induced fall in output during 2020. The recovery, the largest since 1941, will partly be driven by a spending boost from UK consumers who have built up &
FATEHPUR, India: Ram Singh Patel’s day starts at 6 in the morning, when he walks into his farmland tucked next to a railway line. For hours he toils on the farm, where he grows chili peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes and papayas. Sometimes his wife, two sons and two daughters join him to len
The coronavirus pandemic has had a brutal impact on the world’s economy, but it hasn’t all been bad news. Gold bullion, the world’s go-to commodity in times of crisis, was up around 24 percent this year and is set for its biggest annual gain since 2010. What is this preci
LONDON: Britain’s economic recovery from its coronavirus crash was a bit quicker than previously thought in the July-September period, according to official data which also showed government borrowing soaring to pay for the coronavirus crisis.Gross domestic product grew by a record 16.0 perc
Wall Street opened higher on Monday as the start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the US cheered investors, while Britain’s pound jumped on a last-gasp extension to Brexit talks. News that London and Brussels had agreed to “go the extra mile” to try to salvage a Brexit trade a
LONDON: Britain on Saturday readied armed Royal Navy ships to patrol its fishing waters if tempers flare after a “no-deal” Brexit as a make-or-break deadline approached for talks with the EU. Four 80-meter (260-feet) vessels have been placed on standby to guard British waters from
Libya’s resurgent oil supplies are facing a new threat amid a standoff between rival factions in the country’s financial establishment. The conflict-wracked country has surprised global oil markets in the past two months by ramping up production that had been idle since the start of t
Britain’s government said on Monday it would offer a wider range of loan guarantees to promote exports as part of a drive to boost overseas sales following the country’s departure from the EU, its biggest foreign market. Lenders will receive a state guarantee for 80 percent of the mon
Dubai’s economy is expecting a 35 percent growth in foreign investment due to recent reforms in the UAE’s Commercial Companies Law, according to the Director-General of Dubai Economy, Sami Al-Qamzi.The recent amendments will have a far-reaching impact on the flow and quality of foreign
Financial markets’ euphoric reaction to the recent COVID-19 vaccine breakthroughs and US election results is pushing some currencies up so fast that rumblings have begun about a potential new FX war. Almost a decade after Brazil’s finance minister likened Western central bank money-pr
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s promise of a new economic era triggered a foreign-driven rally in the lira, but local investors have yet to be persuaded that policies they say have dragged on economic prospects for years will be reversed. Interviews with local portfolio managers, g
TOKYO: Core consumer prices in Tokyo suffered their biggest annual drop in more than eight years, data showed on Friday, an indication the hit to consumption from the coronavirus crisis continued to heap deflationary pressure on the economy.The data, which is considered a leading indicator of nati