Economy

Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 09:42 UTC
Brazil on the brink of financial default, points out the Financial Times

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been s skeptical of the coronavirus pandemic and the effectiveness of different vaccines to contain it, arguing that the economy, jobs and activity, were the priority above sanitary recommendations. As a result of this approach, his administration's federal spending jumped almost 40% between January and November, according to the Institute of International Finance. And Bolsonaro had even admitted the country is “broke.”
Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 09:37 UTC
Argentine traders and millers discussing options to avoid a ban on wheat exports

Argentina is worried about domestic food prices and inflation, and as it happened a few weeks ago with an attempt to ban corn exports, a similar situation apparently is happening with wheat, and the different actors involved are working on measures aimed at securing the wheat supply and reasonable bread and pasta prices.
Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 09:20 UTC
China recovers pre-pandemic growth and is expected to expand 8,1% in 2021 and 5,6% in 2022, IMF

IMF projects China's economy will grow 8.1% in 2021 and 5.6% in 2022. The global growth is expected to be 5.5% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022 after an estimated 3.5% contraction in 2020, according to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday.
Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 09:06 UTC
New Zealand and China upgraded their free trade agreement: Bad news for Mercosur

China and New Zealand signed the upgrading protocol of their free trade agreement (FTA) via video link on Tuesday with new commitments in trade market entry, investment, and other key aspects.
Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 08:35 UTC
IMF, despite pandemic challenges, forecasts a strong economic rebound this year

The global economy is set to lose over US$ 22 trillion between 2020 and 2025, due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. The economy will likely see a strong rebound this year, but the pandemic is causing severe damage said IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath.
Tuesday, January 26th 2021 - 09:27 UTC
ILO: Pandemic in 2020 has caused massive loss of working hours, equivalent to 255 million full time jobs

Tentative signs of recovery are emerging in global labor markets, following unprecedented disruption in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest report from the International Labour Organization, ILO.
Tuesday, January 26th 2021 - 09:24 UTC
“Journey of recovery” in 2021 will be accompanied by a high level of uncertainty, Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), said on Monday that the “journey to recovery” in 2021 would most likely be accompanied by a “very high level of uncertainty” before a transition to a “new economy.”
Tuesday, January 26th 2021 - 09:21 UTC
Janet Yellen Secretary of the Treasury: ample bipartisan support

By an overwhelming majority, the United States Senate voted on Monday to confirm Janet Yellen as the 78th Secretary of the Treasury. Yellen, 74, is the first woman to hold the position in the Treasury’s 231-year history, and only the second person to ever have served as both Federal Reserve chair and Treasury Secretary.
Tuesday, January 26th 2021 - 09:14 UTC
“Buy American”, one of the lessons learnt from the pandemic, Biden underlines

United States President Joe Biden on Monday signed a “Buy American” executive order to ensure that the federal government invests taxpayers' money on U.S.-made goods in an effort to revitalize the country's manufacturing industry and resilient supply chains.
Monday, January 25th 2021 - 08:15 UTC
Global FDI collapsed in 2020, down 37% for Latin America, and 2021 does not look much better, UNCTAD

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) collapsed in 2020, falling 42% from US$ 1.5 trillion in 2019 to an estimated US$ 859 billion, according to a UNCTAD Investment Trends Monitor released on Sunday.