The recovery is afoot in the world’s advanced economies, yet the pace of progress has varied as several European nations make greater strides bouncing back from pandemic-related lockdowns than the U.S., U.K. and Japan.
COVID-19 remains a hurdle for the global economy as efforts to develop a vaccine continue. The pandemic is prompting a shift in consumer spending habits in the U.S.. It also poses a greater risk to workers in Spain and leaves the U.K. faced with its worst budget gap since World War II.
Here are some of the charts that appeared on Bloomberg this week, offering insight into the latest developments in the global economy:
World
The recovery for most major advanced economies continues at a rapid pace but few have approached pre-virus levels of activity, and divergence between countries has increased, according to Bloomberg Economics’ daily activity gauges.
U.S.
More than a quarter of parents are unsure when they’ll do their back-to-school shopping this year, according to a survey from Deloitte LLP. When they do shop, virtual classes due to the COVID-19 outbreak mean that 40 per cent of parents expect to buy fewer traditional school supplies and instead more technology products such as computers.
The economies of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia contracted in the first quarter of 2020, even before the full effects of the pandemic took hold. Both New York, which is heavily tied to financial services, and hospitality-dependent Nevada contracted more than an 8 per cent annualized rate.
The nexus of power at the Federal Reserve sits with its seven-member Board of Governors, who are based in Washington. Currently they are all White, including two women. Leadership at the Fed’s 12 regional banks have become more diverse recently, but only slightly.
Europe
Spaniards face the greatest risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 in the workplace, according to figures published in the latest OECD Employment Outlook.
Britain is on course to borrow an unprecedented 350 billion pounds (US$442 billion) in the current fiscal year after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a stimulus package to revive the coronavirus-battered economy. It would mean a budget deficit of about 17 per cent of GDP, the highest since World War II.
Asia
Most economists expect the Bank of Japan to leave its main policy settings unchanged at next week’s meeting and through the rest of the year.
India’s soaring coronavirus numbers are threatening its economic recovery and sharpening differences between states and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government.
Emerging Markets
The main leg of the International Monetary Fund and G-20 response to the coronavirus pandemic in Africa has been a debt-interest moratorium. While this a quick way to free up fiscal resources, it’s a poorly targeted method of distributing aid because it supports the most indebted nations, not those worst affected by the COVID-19 crisis, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Lebanon is seeking to protect more of its economy from the dramatic depreciation in the local currency, fixing a subsidized exchange rate for imported food after deeming a wholesale abandonment of the decades-old peg too costly for now.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
