The specter of global public debt has become an ever-present concern haunting economies across Europe. In recent years, this fear has transformed into a stark reality as public debt levels have soared, leading to economic challenges for many European nations. The statistics are shocking: Spain and Italy have debt to GDP ratios of 120% and …
The fear of global public debt: a looming economic crisis in Europe Read More »
In line with the increasing deployment of renewable energy projects worldwide, jobs in the sector are also surging — and China is far and away the top employer within the space. According to the International Labor Organization’s Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2022, there were 12.7 million jobs in renewable energy in 2021, with …
Increasing employment in renewables: almost half are in China Read More »
Climate change is a pressing issue that affects every corner of the world, and in my opinion, emerging countries are particularly vulnerable. As temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and intense, and sea levels continue to rise, these countries face a range of threats that could have devastating consequences. The threat of extreme weather …
IMF: the climate challenge is playing out in emerging countries Read More »
In late 2021, central banks around the world began unwinding liberal monetary policy stances and taking the first steps towards quantitative tightening in a bid to fight record inflation. The European Central Bank started raising interest rates in July 2022 at an almost unheard of speed and scale, culminating in a rise of about 300 …
European economies see the first effects of rising interest rates Read More »
Amid sharply rising global energy and food prices, inflation has threatened to spiral out of control worldwide, and this is prompting concerted action from major central banks. With inflation hitting multi-decade highs in most economies, central banks are responding by hiking interest rates at a similarly record-breaking pace. For instance, the Bank of England recently …
Interest rate hikes fight inflation. Here’s how central banks have acted Read More »
In a survey conducted in November 2020, McKinsey & Co. found that roughly 80% of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) viewed their economy as “somewhat to extremely weak”. While the sentiment varied across national economies, SMEs in Italy and Spain were the least optimistic, while Germany had the most optimistic. Nearly two years later, …
Why are small businesses losing confidence in national economies? Read More »
Climate change is an increasingly costly, and deadly, event in countries around the world. As the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports, the past 50 years have seen some of the deadliest and most expensive disasters ever recorded. The period from 1970 to 2019 accounted for 50% of all climate-related disasters, 45% of reported deaths, and …
After a brief COVID-induced slump, employment rates in the EU have trended upwards once more, according to Eurostat. While the EU employment rate fell to 71.7% in 2020, a drop of one percentage point compared to 2019, job markets in the region rebounded to 73.1% in 2021. In a statement accompanying the release of the …
As the World Economic Forum reports, oil prices jumped above $110 per barrel in the weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Likewise, natural gas prices more than tripled between mid-February and early March in reaction to the conflict, signaling how the war is affecting energy prices globally. But in the case of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, …
How important is Russian gas in the conflict with Ukraine? Read More »
There are strong arguments that uncertainty has been the defining economic feature of the past three years. From the US-China trade war to COVID-19 and the supply chain crisis of 2021, markets have been constantly up or down with remarkably few (and generally short) periods of stability in between. 2022 has only continued that trend …
Why will the uncertainty in markets continue for a long time? Read More »
