August 2013
Summary:
Emerging economies enact?policy measures to forestall?slowing growth
US GDP statistics revised
Drought conditions affect?Southern Africa
A number of indicators point to slowing growth in emerging economies, partly due to?protracted weak external demand from developed countries, but also due to domestic?factors. Differing in their policy space, as well as policy intention, a number of major
emerging economies have taken steps to deal with the slowdown. While the efforts are?not nearly as extensive as those undertaken during the eruption of the financial crisis,?they still demonstrate the necessity of supporting growth. These measures have also come
into effect at the…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 57
July 2013
Summary:
Global?financial turmoil?amid?expectations?of?tapering?QE?stance
Significant?capital?outflows?and?sharp?depreciation?of?domestic?currencies?in?developing?countries
Western?Europe?struggling?to?move?out?from?recession
Large?emerging?economies?continue?to?face?domestic?vulnerabilities
Expectations of an impending reduction in the size of the long-term securities?purchases in the unconventional monetary policy programmes by major central banks, particularly the United States Federal Reserve (Fed), have caused?turmoil in global financial markets. In June, the Fed signaled tapering off the?quantitative easing (QE), particularly the bond purchases program of $85 billion per…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 56
June 2013
Summary:
Financial?markets?upbeat;?real?economies?sluggish
Subdued?global?growth?in?2013?and?moderate?pick-up?expected?for?2014
Unemployment?remains?a?key?policy?challenge
Short-term?risks?have?diminished?but?not?disappeared;?new?medium-term?risks?emerge
Despite improved global financial conditions and signs of reduced short-term?risks, the world?economy continues to expand at a subdued pace. After markedly slower growth over the past?two years, global economic activity is expected to?slowly gain momentum in the second?half of 2013, but growth?will still remain?below potential.?
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Download the World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 55
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 55
May 2013
Summary:?
Commodity?prices?decline?as?global?trade?remains?weak
The?ECB?cuts?interest?rates,?returning?to?conventional?monetary?policy
Economic?momentum?weakens?in?East?Asia;?another?interest?rate?cut?in India
The global economy continued to expand at a subdued pace in the first?quarter of 2013. The euro area is still in a recession and the recovery has?been feeble in most other developed countries. In addition, many emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India and the Russian Federation,?are growing below pre-crisis levels and exhibiting major difficulties. The?weak global demand is affecting the performance of trade and the evolution of world market prices for primary…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 54
April 2013
Summary:
Renewed?concerns?about?banking?fragility?in?the?euro?area
Capital?inflows?into?emerging?markets?gain?momentum
The?Bank?of?Japan?discloses?its?new?monetary?stance?which?is?beyond?market?expectations
United?States?housing market?strengthens?further
Agreement was finally reached on a rescue programme for Cyprus. Cypriot?banks were hard hit by the write-down of their holdings of Greek sovereign debt resulting from the Greek bailout agreement. Cypriot bank assets?are over seven times the size of the country?s GDP, making a government?bailout impossible without external support. The bailout required about ?17 billion, to be generated through a combination of bank…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 53
March 2013
Summary:
Sequestration may lead to lower growth in the?United States?
Weaknesses continue in the European Union
China announces a GDP target of 7.5 per cent?while India boosts budget spending
The Congress of the United States failed to agree on how to reduce the?government deficit in the next decade, thereby automatically activating the?Budget Control Act of 2011 on March 1 of this year. The automatic cuts,?referred to as the ?sequester,? include across-the-board automatic spending cuts worth $1.2 trillion, equally distributed between defense and non-defense programmes. Although the Act exempts Social Security, Medicaid?and other entitlement programmes from sequestration, it…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 52
February 2013
Summary:
Policy?initiatives?improve?the?situation?in?global?financial?markets
Japanese?yen?depreciates?significantly?after?new?policy?stances
Further?monetary?easing?in?South?Asia
A number of new policy initiatives adopted by major economies in late?2012 and early 2013 seem to have measurably improved the situation in?global financial markets. However, the uncertainties and downside risks?remain elevated. ??
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Download the World Economic Situation and Prospects Monthly Briefing No. 51
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 51
January 2013
Summary:
World economic prospects for 2013 only slightly improving
Uncertainties and risks looming
More proactive and concerted policy actions needed
Five years after the eruption of the global financial crisis, the world?economy is still struggling to recover. According to the United Nations?World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013, growth of world?gross product is forecast to reach 2.4 per cent in 2013 in the baseline?estimates, only a slight improvement from the estimated growth of?2.2 per cent for 2012. Weaknesses in the major developed economies are at the root of the continued global economic?woes. Most of them have been dragged into a downward spiral?by the…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 50
November/December 2012
Summary:
Effects of quantitative easing on emerging markets weakening
Fiscal cliff looming for the United States
Economic situation in Japan deteriorates further?
Signs of a mild strengthening of economic activity in China
The initial rounds of quantitative easing (QE) by developed country central banks in 2008 and 2009 are estimated to have had mixed effects on emerging market economies (EMEs). Brazil, among others, faced sudden and strong inflows of hot money causing currency appreciation. The real appreciated by more than 35 per cent over that period, perhaps exacerbating the general slowdown in?exports during that time. Asian EMEs showed more limited…
Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 49
October 2012
Summary:
World trade continues to slow
Economic uncertainty continues in the eurozone
India?s government enacts significant reforms
Growth of world trade has slowed significantly during the year as a consequence of stalling economic activity in developed countries, especially in Europe. After growing by 5 per cent in 2011, the world trade volume expanded by an annualized rate of only 1.2?per cent in the second quarter of 2012.?Most European economies have entered into recession. While around 70 per cent of European trade is intra-European, the sharp?reduction in import demand is also affecting other economies.?
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Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, No. 48
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