We have moved our blog from WordPress to our website, where you will find further data and analysis on the economy organized by macroeconomic indicator, country and region.

Our new blog address is: www.focus-economics.com/blog

You can count on us to continue sharing the latest macroeconomic news and data from our team of economists.

]]> https://focuseconomics.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/our-blog-has-moved/feed/ 0 8345 FocusEconomics focuseconomics FocusEconomics https://focuseconomics.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/todays-top-articles-29-jan-2015/ https://focuseconomics.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/todays-top-articles-29-jan-2015/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2015 09:43:11 +0000 http://focuseconomics.wordpress.com/?p=8340 Continue reading →]]> Philippines: Philippines Q4 GDP growth exceeds expectations
The Philippine economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2014 as industrial sector growth surged, figures from the National Statistical Coordination Board showed on Thursday. (Source: RTT News)

Russia: Russia to spend $35bn on economy plan
The Russian government is to spend at least 2.34 trillion roubles ($35bn, £23bn) to try to stave off an economic crisis, following a collapse in oil prices and the value of the rouble.(Source: BBC)

United States: Fed: Will remain ‘patient,’ upgrades economy
The Federal Reserve said it would remain “patient” on raising rates, but indicated it saw the U.S. economy getting stronger. (Source: CNBC)

Brazil: Petrobras still faces default risk despite release, fund says
Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras still runs the risk of being declared in default on billions of dollars of debt even after releasing its delayed third-quarter earnings before a self-imposed deadline, a New York-based hedge fund said on Wednesday. (Source: Reuters)

Israel: Obama: Netanyahu meeting before Israel election ‘inappropriate’
U.S. President Barack Obama said he declined to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli leader’s visit to the United States in March because it would be “inappropriate” two weeks before an election in that country. (Source: Reuters)

Greece: Three myths about Greece’s mammoth debt mountain
€317 billion ($453 billion) . Over 175pc of national output. That’s the enormous debt mountain that faces the new Greek government. It is the issue over which the country is set to clash with other countries in the eurozone. (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Russia: Ruble Crisis Worsens As Russia Downgraded To ‘Junk’ By S&P
The ruble fell to a six-week low after Standard & Poor’s downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt to a junk rating. The move has worsened a selloff while fighting in the Ukraine has increased the chances for more Western sanctions.(Source: IBTimes)

United States: U.S. deficit to dip in 2015 as era of dramatic declines ends: CBO
The U.S. budget deficit will decline slightly to $468 billion this fiscal year, the lowest level since President Barack Obama took office, congressional forecasters said on Monday in a report heralding the end of a brief period of dramatically shrinking red ink. (Source: Reuters)

Argentina: Argentina to dissolve intelligence body after prosecutor death
The Brazilian Central Bank recently decided to raise interest rates to curb rising inflation, while major central banks cut them, raising the prospect of another recession in Latin America’s biggest economy. (Source: Daily Times)

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia invests in gas fracking
Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company Saudi Aramco is investing USD 7 billion in shale gas drilling in the country. (Source: Business Insider)

Greece: Greece’s new anti-austerity government set on collision course with Brussels 
Greek radicals sought on Monday to redraw the political map of Europe, forming a coalition government of left and right, united only by their desire to defy the European financial establishment and shrug off the constraints of austerity. (Source: Guardian)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Russia: US blames Russia after rocket attacks in Ukraine kill at least 30
The United States placed the blame for recent violence in the Ukraine firmly on Russia. In India, President Obama stated that, the U.S. US would “continue to take the approach that we’ve taken in the past, which is to ratchet up the pressure on Russia.”(Source: The Independent)

Greece: Greece election: Anti-austerity Syriza leader Tsipras vows to end ‘pain’
Anti-austerity Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras has vowed to end Greece’s “five years of humiliation and pain” after his general election win. (Source: BBC)

Brazil: Brazil risks recession as central bank bucks global trend
The Brazilian Central Bank recently decided to raise interest rates to curb rising inflation, while major central banks cut them, raising the prospect of another recession in Latin America’s biggest economy. (Source: Daily Times)

Egypt: Violence mars fourth anniversary of Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution
Thousands of Egyptian protesters chanted “down with the military and the regime” and “Interior Ministry are thugs” at a funeral on Sunday for a young mother and activist who was shot dead by security forces during a peaceful protest marking the fourth anniversary of Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution, according to local media reports. (Source: AJAM).

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Russia: Rouble strengthens
The rouble appreciated on Friday, driven by an increase in oil prices, expectations that foreign investors will be attracted by high Russian interest rates and that exporters will soon convert hard currency into roubles. (Source: CNBC)

Europe: Mario Draghi announces €1.1 trillion quantitative easing programme
European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi unveiled bigger-than-expected quantitative easing measures on Thursday but still faced a fierce fight from Germany over any policy that could mutualise debt in the Eurozone. (Source: Telegraph)

Brazil: Brazil’s worst drought in history prompts rationing warning
More than four million people have been affected by rationing and rolling power cuts as this tropical nation discovers it can no longer rely on once abundant water supplies in a period of rising temperatures and diminishing rainfall. (Source: Guardian)

Saudi Arabia: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia dead at 90, half-brother succeeds him
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the powerful U.S. ally who joined Washington’s fight against Al Qaeda and sought to modernize the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom has died at 90, according to Saudi state TV. (Source: FOX News).

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Lithuania: Industrial production rises in December
In December, Lithuania’s industrial production increased 2.6% in annual and working-day adjusted terms, with the manufacturing and mining and quarrying sectors both recording gains. (Source: RTT News)

Europe: Mario Draghi may need to get a bigger (QE) boat
If Mario Draghi wants to have a significant market impact after Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting, he better not think small. (Source: CNBC)

Brazil: Brazil Raises Benchmark Interest Rate to Highest Level In 3 Years
Brazil’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday to the highest level in more than three years, with inflation expected to surge as the government lets some controlled prices rise. (Source: NASDAQ)

Israel: Israel central bank highlights risk of house price slump
Israel’s central bank said on Wednesday the main risk to the stability of the country’s financial system was the exposure of banks and households to a potential slump in house prices, which have nearly doubled since 2007. (Source: Reuters).

Global: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Says China’s Slowing Economic Growth Will Not Hurt Global Commerce
China’s Premier Li Keqiang sought to reassure a jittery international community that a gradual economic slowdown in the world’s most-populous nation does not bode trouble for the rest of the global economy. (Source: IBTimes)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Ukraine: Ukraine Fighting at Airport Forces Rush of Diplomacy
The escalation of fighting in Ukraine after a lull last month, which is threatening to tip the country into full-blown war, is forcing diplomats across Europe to seek ways to stem the violence. (Source: Bloomberg)

United States: State of the Union: ‘Shadow of Crisis Has Passed’
President Barack Obama, facing a new Republican majority in Congress, asked for a broad package of tax and other reforms in his annual address to lawmakers. (Source: CNBC)

Brazil: Brazil Set for Another Steep Interest Rate Hike to Curb Inflation
Brazil will likely keep its aggressive pace of interest rate increases on Wednesday to rein in surging prices despite growing fears the once-thriving economy could plunge into recession this year. (Source: Reuters)

Egypt: Egypt’s Pound Weakens for Third Straight Day to 7.29 per Dollar
Egypt’s pound weakened to 7.29 per dollar at an unscheduled central bank auction on Tuesday from 7.24 a day earlier, the third depreciation this week in a process traders say aims to gradually stamp out a thriving black market. (Source: Reuters)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Estonia: Estonia producer prices continue to drop in December
Estonia’s producer prices continued to drop in December, falling 1.6% in annual terms, which was a slightly smaller drop than the 2.3% decline recorded in November. (Source: RTT News)

Japan: Bank of Japan: To bazooka or not
The Bank of Japan is in a bind: cheaper oil prices are almost certain to slow inflation and force the central bank to miss its 2 percent target set for this year. But economists are divided over whether the BOJ will act. (Source: CNBC)

Mexico: Oil Majors Show Early Interest in Mexico Bidding Round
Major international oil firms including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC are showing interest in the initial phase of a bidding round for exploratory oil and gas blocks in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico that will be assigned by the government midyear, a top energy official said Monday. (Source: Nasdaq)

Egypt: Nestle to invest USD 138 million in Egypt during the next years
The food company Nestle said that it plans to invest approximately USD 137.93 million in Egypt throughout the next years and believes that the economic reform program will deliver results. (Source: Reuters)

Global: IMF downgrades global growth forecast
The IMF has downgraded its growth forecast for both 2015 and 2016. The Fund now expects growth of 3.5% this year, which is down from the 3.8% increase previously estimated. The growth forecast for 2016 has been cut to 3.7%. (Source: BBC)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Ukraine: Ukraine troops retake Donetsk airport area with ‘mass operation’
A mass operation by Ukrainian troops has retaken most of the strategic Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine after it nearly fell to Russia-backed rebels, the country’s military leadership said on Sunday. (Source: The Guardian)

Europe: ECB faces crucial test of ‘whatever it takes’
The European Central Bank faces a crucial test of its resolve to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro when it decides this week on buying government bonds to combat deflation and revive the economy. (Source: CNBC News)

Argentina: Argentine government rules out changes in exchange rate policy
Alejandro Vanoli, the President of the Argentine Central Bank, dismissed an abrupt change in the official exchange rate policy. (Source: info latam; Language: Spanish)

Lybia: Libyan army agrees partial ceasefire with militias
The Libyan army has declared a partial ceasefire, two days after some of the militias based in western Libya announced a unilateral truce.

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.

Poland: Poland’s c.bank says banking sector safe despite Swiss franc surge
Poland’s central bank said on Thursday that Polish banks are stable and resistant despite Swiss franc appreciation. (Source: Reuters)

Switzerland: Swiss franc soars as Switzerland abandons euro cap
The Swiss franc soared as much as 30% in chaotic trade after the central bank abandoned the cap on the currency’s value against the euro.(Source: BBC News)

Peru: Peru central bank surprises with cut to key interest rate
Peru’s central bank surprised the market by cutting the benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 3.25 percent, following economic growth data for November that came in far below expectations. (Source: Reuters)

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia predicted to cut state spending after oil price fall
Saudi Arabia is forecast to reduce state spending by 18 per cent this year, a clear sign of the impact the slump in crude prices is having on the finances of the world’s largest oil exporter. (Source: FT)

Global: Casualties From Swiss Shock Spread From New York to New Zealand
Loses have mounted after the Swiss National Bank’s decision to abandon the franc’s cap against the euro roiled markets worldwide (Source: Bloomberg)

For the latest economic indicators from around the world, please visit us at Focus-Economics.com.