It was a bruising year for China. A trade war with the United States left its economy expanding at the slowest pace in 30 years.
And economists estimate 4 million jobs may have been lost in 2019. This year is already being defined by the outbreak of the coronavirus which has killed thousands and has infected thousands more, putting the brakes on China’s economy.
Economists polled by Reuters expect China’s growth rate to slump to 4.5 percent in the first quarter of this year from 6 percent in the previous quarter. That would be the slowest pace since the financial crisis.
With much of the country in lockdown, the virus could affect up to 42 percent of China’s economy, according to Standard Chartered.
Companies may struggle to make payments on loans leading to a rise in what is called non-performing loans of $1.1 trillion, according to Standard and Poor’s. Chinese airlines have been forced to ground planes and are expected to lose $12.8bn in revenue.
Globally, the airline industry is set to lose $29bn, according to the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). And the effect of COVID-19 is being felt regionally.
“Well, as you know, from 15 to 20 years ago China was already dubbed as ‘the factory of the world’ so then what we have seen now is that the supply chain sourcing has been interrupted,” Reuben Mondejar, professor for Asian Initiatives at the IESE Business School, University of Navarra, tells Al Jazeera.
Argentina needs help to avoid death default, again
Argentina’s economy is expected to contract for the third consecutive year. Inflation is running at more than 50 percent and the country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid a default on its debt.
Since the late 1950s, the IMF has provided loans and bailouts to Argentina more than 20 times. But this time it has finally admitted what everyone else was saying – that Argentina’s debt is “unsustainable”.
The country has debts of more than $320bn. The IMF now says they will have to take losses on their holdings. And there seems to be a determination in Buenos Aires that they will not accept any new austerity measures.
In fact, the new President Alberto Fernandez has instead frozen prices and increased salaries.
Richard Segal, a senior analyst with Manulife Asset Management, explains that the situation in Argentina has been stressed for many years.
“The IMF is acknowledging what we have understood for a long time, meaning that the public debt is unsustainable and it needs to be written down quite substantially,” Segal notes.
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.
