The Latest News on Global Economics

The current economical climate is struggling and it’s not the residents who have to tighten their purse strings, the countries themselves are struggling to cope with their increasing levels of debt.

We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about tax avoidance for quite a while now, from brass-plating to sweetheart deals.

The European Commission has supported plans from 10 member states to raise funds to deal with the current European economic crisis, by introducing a tax on financial transactions.

This week sees the Royal Bank of Scotland make its final £1.4million payment to the Asset Protection Scheme, reaching the required £2.5billion minimum payment to exit the emergency insurance program.

During the second quarter (April-to-June) the ONS (Office for National Statistics) claimed that the economy shrank by only 0.4pc, after it made a third estimate of gross domestic product for the UK.

The office of Governor of the Bank of England has been filled by Mervyn King for the past 10 years, and has served two consecutive 5-year terms.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) conducted its annual survey of all global economies and rated each one based on 12 “Pillars of Competitiveness” covering a number of factors affecting individual economies such as “Health & Primary Education”, “Technological Readiness, and “Innovation”.

Thursday saw the Barclays group announce the appointment of Antony Jenkins to the role vacated by Bob Diamond earlier this summer. Analysts have already begun to question the future of the investment banking arm of the group.

The UK economy shrank by 2.4% in the first quarter of the year in what is now thought to be the biggest contraction since 1958.

HIG Capital is one of the of the leading global private equity companies. The firm’s Head Quarters are based in Miami, USA and they have offices in Boston, New York, Atlanta and San Francisco.

The recent economic data indicate even the strongest of the world economies undergo the reverse process of de-industrialisation.

The G20 meeting over the weekend could not be much different and it was bound to let people down as there was no speculation of new policy agreements.

Investors are not expecting a quick recovery in credit markets. A rally is certainly not expected until the end of 2009.

The auto industry is showing the first deep scars of a recession from UK to Japan and all around the world. New car sales in the UK dropped by 23% in October, the highest in 17 years according to the SMMT.

The three-month dollar LIBOR fell 5 basis points to 4.5 percent today versus 4.55 percent yesterday, according to the British Banker’s Association.

The global financial meltdown has forced six central banks to coordinate their efforts to ease the detrimental economic effects of the worst ever global financial collapse by lowering interest rates.

The Fed announced today a cash injection of $95 billion in exchange for a 2-year bridge loan and a 79.9% equity stake.

The credit crisis on one hand, the bankruptcy of some of the largest US financial institutions and investment banks, and finally the inflationary storm that rockets energy and food prices.

Lufthansa employees won the battle with inflation, for the time being, as they managed to get a 5.1% raise in their wages, after a week’s strike and hard negotiations with the German airline’s management team.

The British Pound continues to suffer against the Euro, and this trend is likely to continue for most part of the next year.