Author: Steven Sahiounie

Mexico’s economy was an unexpectedly strong performer in 2022, ranking sixth out of 34 countries analyzed on a list of “2022’s Unlikely Winners,” compiled by British magazine The Economist.The magazine ranked countries according to five economic and financial indicators – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, inflation, inflation breadth (the share of inflation basket items whose price has risen more than 2% in a year), stock market performance and government debt – and assigned each an overall score. Mexico was beaten only by Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Israel and Spain.Mexico’s strong performance was due largely to its 3.3% GDP growth between Q4 2021 and…

Northern Ireland’s economy is likely to experience a period of recession as a result of a combination of factors including high inflation, low consumer confidence and tighter monetary policy, according to the latest forecasts from Danske Bank.The bank is forecasting that the Northern Ireland economy will grow by around 4.0% in 2022, which reflects an element of recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. But the bank has revised its previous forecast of a 0.5% annual fall in economic activity in 2023 downwards, and now expects output to contract by about 1.0% through 2023.Danske Bank chief economist Conor Lambe said:  “The UK economy…

Interest rate hikes came too late to stop a price surge in the short term, German industry groups sayGerman consumers should not expect price spikes to subside in the coming months, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) said in a survey of major industry groups, published by Reuters on December 30.According to the report, inflation is likely to remain high throughout the next year, and the 2% target rate set by the European Central bank (ECB) may not be reached until at least 2025.“A return to a level of 2% is likely to take longer and can only be achieved…

Windfall tax on energy sector will make it harder to keep ageing reactors running, operator saysTwo nuclear power plants in the UK are at the risk of being closed next year as a result of thewindfall tax approved by the British authorities last year, The Sunday Telegraph reports on Sunday, citing French grid operator Electricite de France (EDF), which runs the stations.EDF, which owns all five of the serving nuclear plants across the UK said that the new levy, which has come into effect on January 1, will make it harder for the operator to run the ageing stations of…

The switch to air fryers and heat pump tumble dryers is reportedly aimed at lowering energy billsUK shoppers have been snapping up energy-efficient appliances in an effort to lower energy bills amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis in the country, the Financial Times has reported, citing retailers.Consumers have been increasingly opting for devices such as air fryers and heat pump tumble dryers, as well as loft insulation for their homes, the report said. Sales of air fryers at Argos are up 420% so far year-on-year, while Currys is selling 18,000 to 20,000 air fryers a week, versus just 1,000 to 2,000…

Residents sent record amounts abroad throughout the year, Central Bank data shows. New foreign currency deposits held by Russian residents in overseas banks hit a record 1.47 trillion rubles ($19.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, data published on the Bank of Russia website on Friday showed. According to the regulator, transfers nearly tripled against the previous quarter, when they amounted to 551 billion rubles. They also surged by 26 times compared to the third quarter of 2021, when residents moved only 57 billion rubles to overseas accounts.Earlier, the Bank of Russia reported that as of November 1, residents…

The Tesla boss has seen his wealth more than halved in little over a year on poor performance of the carmaker’s stock. Tesla owner Elon Musk has lost some $200 billion in the past year, becoming the first person ever to lose that much money, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing calculations from its Billionaires Index.According to the report, Musk had a net worth of $340 billion after Tesla’s market capitalization topped $1 trillion late last year. However, his fortune is now worth $137 billion.Analysts say the losses were attributable to the poor performance of Tesla stock, which plummeted by 65%…

For Modi, who’s had a decidedly rocky 2022, the headlines generated by the London-based consultancy’s prediction couldn’t be better timed. CEBR’s contention that India will leapfrog to the top three globally assumes it grows about 6.5% annually over the next decade.As CEBR argues, “this growth trajectory will see India rise from fifth place on the World Economic League Table in 2022 to third in the global rankings by 2037.” And as early as “2035, we forecast that India will become the third $10 trillion economy. Although there are political factors that could hold India back, it has demographics on its…

.China’s economy has had a bumpy ride throughout 2022. More than two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, headwinds including the worst outbreaks and a prolonged property sector crisis continued to put a brake on growth.Faced with faltering demand at home and abroad, China’s GDP has been expanding well below target this year. While policymakers, desperate to boost growth, have launched an array of fiscal and monetary stimulus, the measures have not done much to prop up sagging consumer spending or business confidence. Meanwhile, local governments’ fiscal woes have intensified as their land sales and tax revenues have slumped.Left with few…

China is preparing to launch its first state-backed non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace as it continues to embrace blockchain technology, according to media reports.Dubbed the ‘China Digital Asset Trading Platform’, the NFT platform will be launched in Beijing on January 1, 2023. The platform will be a secondary market allowing users to trade digital copyrights, property rights, and collectibles.It will reportedly be run by the state-owned China Technology Exchange in collaboration with the government-backed Art Exhibitions China and a private company, Huban Digital Copyrights.The platform’s underlying blockchain is called ‘China Cultural Protection Chain’, according to the reports.Despite being crypto-skeptic, China was…