Ailing economy forcing mass exodus
Bloomberg 6 hours, 10 minutes ago
(Newser)
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Iceland faces its largest exodus in a century as job seekers flee the ailing nation, which is steeped in its worst financial crisis since independence. One survey estimates about half of Icelanders between 18 and 24 plan are thinking about leaving the country for Norway and other relatively strong economies. Iceland's own $7.5 billion economy may shrink by 10% next year even as the IMF provides a $4.6 billion boost, Bloomberg reports.
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Economic downturn forces 'creative' thinking
Wall Street Journal Nov 14, 08 9:47 AM CST
(Newser)
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Facing a worldwide economic downturn, some makers of luxury goods—designer clothes, bags, shoes—are breaking with long-held tradition and trimming prices in the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Companies such as Chanel, Versace, and Chloe are making cuts of up to 10%. Still, when image is key, purveyors of designer items can’t risk lowering prices too much; a sinking price tag can mean a sinking profile, the Journal notes.
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Falling prices
could trigger long
downward spiral
New York Times Nov 1, 08 5:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Fears of runaway inflation have been replaced by fears of its opposite as the world's economy starts seizing up, the New York Times reports. Economists see a potentially devastating deflation ahead as cash-strapped consumers create a glut of underpriced, unpurchased goods and services—in turn triggering mass layoffs at struggling companies and sending the US economy into a tailspin that will be tough to halt.
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Brown faces revolt from within his ruling Labour party
Associated Press Sep 23, 08 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Gordon Brown sought to capture some of Barack Obama’s political celebrity today, the AP reports, with the embattled British prime minister showing a gathering of his Labour Party old footage of the Illinois senator praising him. Brown faces a slumping economy, and elements within Labour would like to see him replaced by foreign secretary David Miliband.
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UK economic chief bluntly warns of harder times ahead
Guardian (UK) Aug 30, 08 10:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The outlook for Britain's economy is the bleakest since the days when the country was rebuilding from the Blitz, Chancellor Alistair Darling tells the Guardian . Darling warns that the downturn for the UK and the wider world could be "more profound and longer-lasting" than people expect. He acknowledges that voters are "pissed off" with the Labour party, and him personally.
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Nations hit hard by mortgage crisis, high fuel costs
New York Times Aug 24, 08 4:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Gone is the hope that the global economy will stay strong as America's financial fortunes flag. The world’s largest economies are showing signs of a slowdown, the New York Times reports. Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, even famously fast-growing India and China are all taking a hit. Global growth overall will slow to 4.1% from 5% last year, the International Monetary Fund predicts.
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Slowdown in Spain is representative of the EU's growing economic ills
Washington Post Aug 12, 08 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Europe seems to be catching the economic malaise that has already affected the US, and the downturn is putting a damper on member nations' enthusiasm for the 15-year-old Economic Union, the Washington Post reports. Revised projections show European economies slowing down as much, if not more, than the US over the next year and a half.
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analysis
Fed cuts, stimulus package won't do the trick
Newsweek Jun 8, 08 5:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek . The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven economy may not bounce back as rapidly as it did in the fraught months after 9/11," Gross writes.
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Projected growth worldwide at lowest level since 9/11 attacks
Wall Street Journal Apr 11, 08 10:21 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The projected growth in the demand for oil worldwide is at its lowest level since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but don't expect any any price relief, reports the Wall Street Journal . The IEA pegs projected growth at 1.3 million barrels a day, down 35% from its projection in January. But even though the US and Europe will use less, booming nations such as India and China need more, which means OPEC can hold prices steady.
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IMF predicts slide, but not the crisis it would have been 5 years ago
Washington Post Jan 30, 08 3:01 AM CST
(Newser)
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The world economy will still catch a cold when America sneezes, but it won't be as bad as it would have been 5-10 years ago, the Washington Post reports. The International Monetary Fund predicts a 2008 global growth forecast of 4.1%—down from 4.9% last year—largely because of an expectation of a US downturn. The impact could have been far worse, but American economic dominance has been diluted, leaving other economies better able to weather a US recession.
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OPINION
Moguls shed guilt and seek bailout money,
but do pay homage to ideas: Guardian
Guardian (UK) Jan 25, 08 9:28 PM CST
(Newser)
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The Davos summit, an annual retreat “where money comes to find morality and politics comes to meet money,” is the capital of capitalism—yet the world's economic crisis is only spoken of in whispers there, writes Julian Glover in the Guardian . Instead, moguls press the flesh with Middle East oil magnates and Chinese or Russian officials—anyone who can buoy the West's wobbly economy with a nod or a phone call.
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Airplane giant urges European governments to slow surging euro
Financial Times (UK) Nov 23, 07 6:49 AM CST
(Newser)
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The weakening dollar has European aerospace giant Airbus in a tailspin that could be “life-threatening,” CEO Tom Enders said yesterday, the Financial Times reports, adding that the exchange rate has “gone beyond the pain barrier.” Airbus said every 10-cent decline in the dollar cost the company €1 billion. The dollar reached a low of $1.4873 against the euro this week.
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Household spending rate is second-highest in world, report says
Wall Street Journal Nov 22, 07 11:42 AM CST
(Newser)
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The US trails only Luxembourg and Norway in GDP per person and has the second highest household spending rates among 55 nations in a new report, reports the Wall Street Journal. The GDP measures household and government spending as well as business investment and net exports. The US per capita GDP was 44% above the OECD average.
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11.5% growth pushes
prices worldwide
New York Times Oct 25, 07 8:37 PM CDT
(Newser)
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China's economy is booming and inflation is in check, but for how long? Third quarter growth swelled the economy by 11.5%, putting China ahead of Asian rivals India and Vietnam, and inflation dropped to 6.2%. Beijing says it will keep falling, but inflationary fears sent the Shanghai stock market down 4.8% today, the New York Times reports
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Money mailed home makes possible Kerala's leftist showcase
New York Times Sep 7, 07 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The South Indian state of Kerala, long touted for achieving a high quality of life in the face of dire poverty, relies heavily on earnings sent from menial jobs abroad, the New York Times reports. Offered as a leftist alternative to market-driven development in poor nations, Kerala is famous for the health care and education given to its populace despite a per capita income almost $100 lower than the Indian average.
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