America’s politicians have long worried about the rising share of men out of work. More on the sidelines means slower economic growth, heftier benefit payments and a frailer social fabric. During the election campaign, both candidates have offered policies designed to tackle this long-standing problem. Donald Trump proposes sweeping tariffs and clamping down on illegal […]
Across Europe fiscal policy is causing headaches. The governments of Britain and France are both raising tax rates sharply. Germany is hobbled by a self-imposed debt brake. Meanwhile, Italy’s profligate borrowing continues to unsettle investors. Ireland faces a different problem: the government is so flush with cash it does not know quite what to do […]
A billion years ago, as one tectonic plate ripped apart from another, two chambers of magma were sealed off beneath what would later become Greenland. As thousands of years passed, the magma cooled, each layer crystallising under rarefied conditions. Today the Ilimaussaq intrusion is a giant fold of rock beneath Gardar, in south-west Greenland. By […]
Pity the California taxman. The state has a yawning budget deficit, which politicians are attempting to narrow. Local laws make it difficult to raise taxes, requiring a two-thirds majority. Worse, once-reliable sources of funds are running dry. Fuel-tax revenues are forecast to fall sharply as drivers switch to electric vehicles. Revenues from cigarette taxes have […]
With less than a week left before America’s presidential and congressional elections, market participants are abuzz with discussion of what the various results might mean for everything from trade and defence to tax and regulation. But the Treasury market, which ultimately underpins much of global finance, is of particular interest. Source link
At the 39th ASEAN Roundtable, hosted by the Association of South-East Asian Nations in Singapore on October 28th, the room was split. With Asia riven by an assertive China and a protectionist America, some attendees called for hard-headed thinking about trade-offs. Choices will have to be made; allegiances declared, they warned. A Donald Trump victory […]
America was supposed to be in recession. When the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates at the fastest pace since the early 1980s, few economists expected the economy to be heading into a presidential election in this state. Indeed, even a few months ago few thought things would be this good. Real (inflation-adjusted) quarterly […]
Land in any Indian city, such as Bangalore or Hyderabad, and you will be struck by its heady optimism. India’s economy may be in the early stage of a historic boom. Recently released figures show that economic growth roared to an annualised pace of 7.6% in the third quarter of 2023. In the past few […]
The importance of having an opinion about Baku’s kebabs Source link
It has been a terrible year to be bullish on China. The CSI 300 index of Chinese stocks has dropped by 13% so far in 2023, to below the level reached during the last of the country’s severe covid-19 lockdowns. Difficulties in the property market are prompting corporate defaults. The lacklustre outlook for economic growth, […]