Economy inflation

Representative image Impostor syndrome seems to be more common than actually thought, though at a collective level. People may often feel that the groups they are affiliated with may be underperforming in comparison to other groups. Although this self-critical approach may work in certain cases, it may also overlook the positives, and decrease the morale of those affiliated with the group. Many in India seem to have a collective/national-level impostor syndrome. While the Indian economy is much better placed than its peers in the emerging markets, and other economies, the government is being criticised on the economic front. The criticism comes when the fundamentals of the Indian economy are robust, despite the exogenous shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and inflated crude oil prices. India's macroeconomic health remains robust despite external pressures, and ongoing … [Read more...] about Bibek Debroy writes: India’s economy is better placed than its peers, other economies around the world

Accelerating inflation has cooled the Philippines’ second-quarter economic growth to 7.4 percent, below market expectations, the government reported on Tuesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) expansion during the April-to-June period was lower than 8.2 percent a quarter ago and 12.1 percent a year ago, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a press briefing. The majority of economists watching the Philippines had projected a sustained above 8-percent growth for the second quarter. Also, Mapa said second-quarter GDP or the total goods and services produced in the country was smaller than the first-quarter output by 0.1 percent. “Transportation and storage, manufacturing, human health and social work activities were the top contributors to the [quarter-on-quarter] decline,” the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a statement. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan nonetheless noted that the Philippines was the second-fastest growing economy in emerging … [Read more...] about Soaring inflation cools PH Q2 GDP growth to 7.4%

Representative image Shares slipped and the dollar hung off recent highs on Tuesday as investors eyed U.S. inflation data due a day later that will likely yield clues to any further aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. The stakes are high for the July U.S. consumer prices report on Wednesday after an unexpectedly strong U.S. jobs data last week boosted expectations of a sharp interest rate increase to tackle soaring inflation. The broader Euro STOXX 600 fell 0.6%, after logging its best session in nearly two weeks on Monday, with German stocks down 0.7%. Miners and autos, among top gainers a day earlier, led declines on Tuesday. Wall Street futures pointed to slim gains. "The focus is on tomorrow's U.S. inflation numbers and whether or not they are likely to show any indication of a softening of inflationary pressures," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. Close "Are we near the peak, and will tomorrow's CPI numbers reflect that?" … [Read more...] about Stocks stumble as caution reigns ahead of U.S. inflation data

(Agence France-Presse) (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Hong Kong   ● Wed, August 10 2022 Most markets rose on Tuesday but investors moved cautiously ahead of United States inflation data later in the week, after a jobs report suggested the US Federal Reserve would likely need to continue its sharp interest rate hikes to tame runaway prices. A rally across global markets from June lows appeared to have hit the buffers after Friday's forecast-busting employment reading showed the world's top economy remained resilient but meant more monetary tightening was on the cards. There had been hopes that recent weak data — including one showing the economy contracted for two straight quarters — would allow the bank to take its foot off the pedal in lifting borrowing costs, and possibly begin cutting in 2023. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, … [Read more...] about Markets mostly up as focus turns to inflation data

Dear Reader , The Panorama newsletter is sent to Moneycontrol Pro subscribers on market days. It offers easy access to stories published on Moneycontrol Pro and gives a little extra by setting out a context or an event or trend that investors should keep track of. In a case of how cheer for the economy may not be so for markets, investors in US stocks fretted over excellent jobs data. US businesses added 5,28,000 jobs in July, beating most estimates by an embarrassing margin. US 2-year treasuries rose after the report, as the market priced in a more certain likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike by the US Fed. But the S&P 500 slipped, as investors pondered over what too strong an economy could mean for interest rates. Those fears did not carry over to India, however, with the stock market rising by a strong 0.8 percent at 1.15pm. The RBI’s 50 basis point hike in the repo rate last week and its determination to stay in ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ mode is … [Read more...] about Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | Are US and Indian markets decoupling?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India for the current financial year by 80 basis points to 7.4 percent. A similar downgrade has been made to the growth forecast for FY24, which now stands at 6.1 percent as against 6.9 percent earlier. "For India, the revision reflects mainly less favourable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening," the IMF said on July 26 in an update to its World Economic Outlook report. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February disrupted supplies of crucial commodities, pushing up prices globally. Consequently, key central banks in the developed world, such as the US Federal Reserve, have begun tightening their monetary policies in earnest to cut down multi-decade high inflation . This has exerted further pressure on the Indian rupee, which has hurtled to multiple record lows in recent weeks and last week breached the 80-per-dollar mark for the first time . Close … [Read more...] about IMF cuts India’s FY23 growth forecast by 80 bps to 7.4%

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both oil and gas exported from Russia bring in significant revenue that can be used to support the Russian war in Ukraine. But the export revenue from oil sales is much greate r than export revenue from gas sales. If the West stops buying oil this really hurts Russia – more than if the West stopped buying gas. Back in May, the EU agreed to ban all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, at least those that are delivered by sea. That was a good move. Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to the European Union. Russia has realized that cutting natural gas doesn’t affect their export revenue (like oil does) but it affects the economies of EU countries a lot more. Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year , with Germany, Italy, and Netherlands the top three importers in actual volumes of gas. Germany had imported more than 50% of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. By the end of June, … [Read more...] about Russia Threatens, EU Reduces, US Industry Helps To Untangle The Natural Gas War In Europe.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As this energy transition continues to move forward in a somewhat halting fashion, prodded along by energy and climate policy decisions, it is becoming increasingly apparent that displacing a substantial percentage of current fossil fuel usage on a global scale will require a far more diverse set of solutions than just more subsidies for wind and solar. Not that such subsidies are being abandoned, of course: Quite the opposite, in fact. Robert Bryce reported Sunday at Forbes that the Manchin/Schumer cornucopia of climate spending (cynically titled the “Inflation Reduction Act”) passed on a strictly partisan vote by the Senate would direct another $113 billion to just those two rent-seeking industries over the coming decade. Fortunately, the bill also recognizes that subsidies for those two industries alone won’t do the trick. Manchin’s own statement on the huge tax and spending package recognizes that reality, stating … [Read more...] about Hydrogen A Winner As Manchin Forces A Diverse Energy Transition Policy Approach

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The growth trajectory of the largest national entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — has many concerned, understandably so. But state and local unfunded pension liabilities must also be counted among the major challenges to U.S. fiscal health. According to Pew research, unfunded state pension liabilities reached a combined $1.25 trillion in 2019. Other projections that assume more modest investment returns find total unfunded state pension liabilities today in excess of $8 trillion . The trillions of dollars in growing unfunded public pension liabilities, for which taxpayers are ultimately on the hook, is a problem that could soon be exacerbated by a new federal tax in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that will diminish state and local pension plan returns. “We should not increase taxes, and we did not increase taxes,” Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) said about the IRA on NBC’s Meet the … [Read more...] about Stock Buyback Tax Will Harm State & Local Pensions

Representative Image In the August Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the Indian Rupee (INR) has fared “much better than several reserve currencies as well as many of its EME and Asian peers”. The Governor also added that the INR has depreciated “more on account of the appreciation of US dollar rather than weakness in macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy”. Of late, there has been a lot of discussion around the INR. Towards the end of July, the rupee touched 80 against a US dollar , leading to discussions that it is a sign of a weakening Indian economy. But, is this the case? First, exchange rate increasing or decreasing against a foreign currency is not a sign of weakness or strength. In fact depreciation of the currency is often cited as a positive development for the domestic economy. If a currency depreciates against a foreign currency, the exports become cheaper with respect to the other country, and imports … [Read more...] about USD vs INR | India’s macroeconomic fundamentals are strong