Stock markets all over the world sputtered this Friday, as investors tended to implement a “wait and watch” policy. This was after a new warning on the debt crisis of the United States issued by S&P. Investors were unsure on how to weigh some positive indicators about the economy against the new warning against the debt carried by the United States. Indices all over the Europe slipped points during early period of trading in Europe. For instance, Germany's DAX fell by 0.8 per cent at 7, 160.35, CAC 40 from France went down by 0.8 percent to 3, 722.98, and  FTSE 100 from Britain slipped down 0.5 per cent to 5, 815.75. Amidst rising concerns on the credit rating of the United States government, investors also had some positive news regarding the economy of the country. The US retail [...]

Banks based in France such as Credit Agricole SA (ACA) and the BNP Paribas SA will be facing the greatest risk from Italy’s debt crisis. The debt crisis in the European Union has infected the largest borrower in Europe, namely, Italy. Italy has outstanding bonds as large as $ 2.23 trillion or (1.6 trillion euros, is the largest debt load in the continent, and third in the world, after the United States and Japan. At the end of the previous year, French banks had a total of $ 392.6 billion in debts from Italy, which includes both from the Italian government as well as private debt. This data was given by The Bank for International Settlements, based at Basel, Switzerland. This is the largest amount held by financial institutions from any foreign country. When compared to French lenders, German [...]

Even though there was a slight slowing down of the manufacturing sector of China in June, the trade gap of the export powerhouse country has been continuing its steady growth in the month. From a $ 13.05 billion trade surplus in the month of May, the June surplus for the country was recorded at a $ 22.3 billion. This was declared on Sat by the General Administration of Customs in China. Trade surplus basically occurs when the exports of the country are more than the imports, creating a surplus. This is opposed to trade deficit, when the opposite scenario is applicable. China is the leading partner for trade with the United States, and is the second biggest economy in the world. The economic growth of the country has outpaced the same in the US, which even the kindest critics would call sluggish. [...]

Economists are looking at the situation that has besieged Europe, namely the European debt crisis, and mulling over whether there is actually a possibility of the European region being hit hard by its financial woes. At least the U.S. has the comfort of a stimulus being implemented, nor a round of quantitative easing to fall back upon. With those two luxuries being effectively taken away from the European zone, Europe might turn to other creature comforts, but where are they to be found? There are other disadvantages to be wary of too; the recovery of these nations from a protracted slump is probable, if difficult to foresee. The ditch is deep, and a lot of digging is to be done if they have to get out of the rut. There is a wave of austerity that has swept across the European region, and in [...]

Does the Chinese economy matter as much as you think? Perhaps not. Bridging the great wall of China might not be that big of a deal. The townspeople of Alpha in Queensland certainly think so. The town itself, numbering an almighty 400 people, has just one policeman to call upon and a part-time ambulance driver to call upon when emergency strikes. But in the next few years, it will almost certainly quadruple, maybe even quintuple, in the coming years. Thanks for that has to go to the Metallurgical Corporation of China that has invested A$7.5 billion ($7.3 billion) into building Australia's single largest coal mine. The Metallurgical Corporation of China is a government owned firm that powers China's burgeoning mining and metals industry. That investment will see not only the gargantuan coal [...]

It is, in many ways, absolutely amazing how Europe's watchdogs and central monetary figureheads have almost stood by while the sovereign debt crisis first snowballed. It was almost as if the European Central Bank was a reluctant bystander, unwilling to shoulder the responsibility and burden of some of the member states of the European zone. Greece, to quote a prime example, flouted several rules about fiscal well-being while a member of the Euro Zone and when their chicanery came to light (only because the government changed hands and the new one wasn't willing to be left holding the baby) there was of course shock and outrage over what had happened but other than a bit of rhetoric no real action was taken against the Greeks. The European Central Bank needs to take a more active role and clamp [...]

Pakistan right now is in a state of near-breakdown. A state of economic being that is best described as shambolic coupled with the ravages of Mother Nature means that this strategic partner of Uncle Sam is in a state of spreading paralysis. If you think President Obama has it bad, you’ll positively feel pitiful of President Asif Zardari’s plight. He faces some of the stiffest challenges of any government anywhere on the planet. As if economic woes were not enough, there is also the small matter of insurgency, terrorism and wide-spread corruption to deal with. Foreign investors are looking on with worried gazes while Pakistan’s army is incapable of dealing with the challenge it faces. The only winner is the Taliban, and that is a body blow to the stability of the entire region. The question [...]

The storms that swept through New York City some days back were bizarre to say the least. If anything, it reminded me of scenes straight out of Ghostbusters and the National Weather Service went so far as to say the storm contained “tornadic” elements. That was Thursday evening, and sitting at my computer in a non-descript apartment dotting the Manhattan skyline, I heard the thunder rumbling overhead and saw the skies wear its coat of black, but through it all I sipped at my evening cuppa of coffee and worked away at the computer. Unknown to me, the storm danced its deadly tango outside. The boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island felt its impact most, and a friend who had tried to take her child home from Prospect Park in Brooklyn told me that it was “an earth-shattering experience”. [...]

The honeymoon period is done and dusted and a bitter fight looms large for the Obama administration as America Inc. is (maybe rightly) alarmed over regulatory initiatives aimed squarely in their direction. At a time when production and output is down, corporate America needs to be encouraged to up production and create jobs, not criticized. Now is the time to pull it together, and while the crisis has been greatly contained now, the administration has still messed up on multiple fronts. The uncertain fiscal policy and multiple advisory bodies that sometimes bicker publicly are just some of the issues at the heart of it all. Government debt has stymied industry, which in turn hits employment prospects hard, which in turn hits the government and the economy hard and everything goes on. But cut [...]

Even as western economies flounder and flutter in the wind, it is emerging economies that have really risen to the occasion with some very strong second quarter figures coming forth from economies such as Brazil and India. There is also Australia in the mix, and it is the exception as developed economies go. Their performance is in stark contrast to that of some of the biggest economies all over the world, such as the US economy.  Let us talk about some of the best performing economies one at a time. Brazil The land of sun, surf, sand and the Carnival de Rio is having a real blast, and it’s not just restricted to the beaches of Brasilia. If Q1 was a sign of the resilience of the Brazilian economy in the face of an economic slowdown, Q2 was an affirmation of the innate strength of Brazil’s [...]

How low have we gone? Are we running so badly at this moment in time as a global economy that any news that isn’t bad news automatically gets translated as good news? There is an expectation among investors that the financial indicators of this week are weak, even bland, but better than expected. Perhaps such a sentiment could spur investors into loosening those purse strings and that won’t be such a bad thing at all, even if the results themselves weren’t something to thump your chest over and go to town singing songs of glee. It’s quite clearly a case of once bitten, twice shy. Investors that have already been burnt once really don’t want to see any of their money evaporate into a lot of nothingness a second time around. The brunt of this has been borne by stocks globally as indices [...]

Whenever there is an economic blow, one of the first ones to get affected is the local economy. The hotel and retail industries are very vulnerable to bad economic conditions. But when a big event, like a sporting event, takes place in the affected country or city, it is expected to create some wealth for the city as there are more visitors to the city which is expected to boost business. Here are some ways in which the increased visitor traffic during a big sporting event, such as a World Series or a Super Bowl is going to boost up the economy of the host city. Hotel Bookings The first industry to see an increased business during a big sporting event is the hotel industry. The players, celebrity guests and outstation spectators will all need places to food and lodge and they book hotels and [...]