World Economy

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday said Nigeria’s indebtedness would climb to 24.1% of its gross domestic product by 2018.

Nigeria ended 2016 with a debt to GDP ratio of 18.6%…

Thailand’s central bank held its key interest rate near a record low to support economic growth that’s lagging peers in Southeast Asia, Bloomberg reported. The one-day bond repurchase rate was…

Kenya’s current account deficit widened to 7.7% of GDP in February from 5.9% the same time a year earlier, the finance ministry said, Reuters reported. The treasury blamed a 5.6% fall in the value…

Namibia’s unemployment rate increased to 34% of the working population last year from 28.1% in 2014, the last time a labor force survey was conducted, the Namibia Statistics Agency said on…

Malaysia’s central bank has said that its GDP grew 5.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2017, compared with 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2016. This is the highest rate of growth in two…

Economic austerity reforms meant to put Brazil’s recession-damaged economy back on the rails are in danger now that President Michel Temer is on the verge of being ousted in a corruption scandal,…

Construction work dropped in the three months to March, which could have an impact on economic growth. The value of construction work done fell 0.7% in the March quarter to $46.4 billion, a…

Canada’s housing market offers a case study in a contentious economic issue: If a central bank sees a bubble forming, should it act to deflate it? In this instance, the answer should be a…

Consumer inflation in South Africa slowed much more than expected in April. The consumer price index rose 5.3% in April from a year earlier, Statistics SA said on Wednesday—slowing from 6.1% in…

Moody's Investors Service Wednesday downgraded China's credit ratings for the first time in nearly 30 years. Moody's said it expects the financial strength of the Chinese economy will erode in…

Scotland won a record number of investments from overseas in 2016, although growth was substantially lower than the previous year. There were 122 foreign direct investment deals done over the…

Eurozone government bond yields nudged higher on Wednesday as the improving consumer sentiment in Germany was viewed as the latest evidence that a brightening economy may encourage the central…

Most Asian markets rose Wednesday following a positive lead from the US and Europe, while Shanghai recovered from early selling fuelled by Moody’s decision to cut China’s credit rating on worries…

Asia is assuming the digital leadership position in the 21st century, says audit, tax, legal and financial adivisory firm Deloitte in its Voice of Asia series report.

According to data published on May 22 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, growth rates across the 35 members dipped in the first quarter of 2017. The provisional data…

Slovenia’s economy is expected to grow strongly in the second quarter of the year amid falling unemployment and a rise in investments and exports, the Bank of Slovenia said on Tuesday, Reuters…

Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant and Texas’ Huntsman Corp. will attempt to join and create a company with a market value of $13.8 billion, the latest proposed deal in a chemicals industry…

Swedish unemployment rose to 7.2% in April, the statistics office said on Tuesday, above the 7.1% forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. The jobless rate was 6.8% in the previous month. Total…

The boss of explosives group Orica has warned Australia risks facing a future that will look increasingly like “France and not Singapore” as the country loses its economic vibrancy and as China’s…

Russia’s oil-dependent economy is expected to grow from 2017 onwards, supported by higher global crude prices and oil production rising to new post-Soviet highs, the World Bank said on Tuesday.…

President Donald Trump would dramatically reduce the US government’s role in society with $3.6 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years in a budget plan that shrinks the safety net for the…

A leading global expert has said the BRICS nations will create a level playing field for developing economies and emerging markets. The expert made the comments nearly 100 days before the ninth…

Once again, it is good times for the iron ore miners: global steel production through February 2017 is up 5.8% over last year, prices remain buoyant, and counter-intuitively, China continues to…

Greece and its creditors have postponed an agreement to unblock a new disbursement from the Greek bailout and on debt relief measures, euobserver reported. The deal will now be re-examined in mid-…

The European Commission said that Luxembourg should remove barriers to investment and innovation, remove regulatory restrictions in the business services sector and act on its pension system.