Commentary Beijing reported that the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew in this year’s first quarter by 4.5 percent over the first quarter of 2022. That is a vast improvement over the 2.9 percent growth reported for the fourth quarter of last year. Because Beijing rescinded its draconian zero-COVID policy last January, most forecasters…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that global economic growth over the next five years will be the weakest in more than three decades, with China among the nations propping up the world economy. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva issued the warning in a speech in Washington on April 6, when she cautioned that the path…

If the government reduced taxes and reduced welfare benefits more gradually, more Quebecers receiving social support would join the workforce, suggests a study released Monday by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), a public policy think tank with offices in Montreal and Calgary. The study said the current welfare system “encourages long-term dependency through perverse economic…

U.S. retail and food service sales fell 0.6 percent in November (pdf), twice the expected decline and the biggest monthly drop this year. As the largest importer of Chinese goods, lower consumption in the United States directly affects China’s exports. China’s cumulative export growth in the first 11 months this year is about 30 percent…

The UK economy contracted by more than previously thought between July and September and growth has been weaker than estimated throughout much of the past year, official data has revealed. According to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Dec. 22, the UK’s GDP fell by 0.3 percent in the third…

News Analysis Immediately following the death of former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin, numerous Western media outlets began to laud his efforts to open the Chinese economy to the outside world and create a “global economic juggernaut.” They cited rapid economic growth throughout a decade of his leadership in the post-Tiananmen era as evidence…

China’s economy will now rely less on exports and steer toward the domestic market, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said at the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Oct. 16. “We will make sure that our implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand is integrated with our efforts to deepen supply-side structural…

The Chinese economy is still struggling with ongoing lockdowns, uneven export growth, and U.S. rate hikes. Experts believe recession or stagflation may be imminent. Forecasts of 1 percent GDP growth fell short in the second quarter as the GDP only reached 0.4 percent. Retail sales were down 11 percent in April, leaving them 0.7 percent…

Amid a declining economic outlook, investor growth and profit expectations have hit an all-time low, according to the Bank of America global fund manager survey for July. The closely watched BOA survey, which was released on July 19, polled 259 investors overseeing $722 billion in assets. The survey saw risk assets falling to levels not…

BRUSSELS—The European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth in the euro zone for this year and next and revised up its estimates for inflation on Thursday largely due to the impact of the war in Ukraine. In its quarterly forecasts, Brussels confirmed its more downbeat outlook, which it had already discussed with euro zone…