High food and fuel prices will increase the number of malnourished people around the world in 2008 by 44 million to reach a total of 967 million, a report from the World Bank says.
Home loans tumbled in August for a 7th successive month and consumer confidence plunged in October, so the question now is whether Tuesday's 1% rate cut from the Reserve Bank will have any impact in reversing those trends.
The way the world tries to solve its economic problems needs to be rethought amid today’s global crisis, including turning the Group of Seven into a Steering Group that empowers rising economic states, said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.
As we have seen, the issues this week for investors will be the Reserve Bank, interest rates, employment in Australia, shares, banks generally, credit freeze, earnings in the US, interest rates in Britain and Japan and confidence generally.
A rough week for everyone, made rougher by some dopey politicians in the US. Shares made new lows in the past week on more bank failures & uncertainty about the US relief package.
The world economy continues to slide closer to the edge of recession with manufacturing around the world taking a major hit last month from the credit crunch and the credit freeze.
Advances are being achieved in bringing greater transparency to financial centres around the world, but progress on exchange of information on tax issues is more limited, according to OECD’s latest report on its drive to bring more fairness to cross-border tax co-operation.
Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 4.7% in the year to August 2008, compared with 4.8% in the year to July 2008. On a monthly basis, the price level decreased by 0.1% in August, compared with a rise of 0.4% in July.
In the wake of the bailout failure and the spreading ripples of the financial crisis, it's going to be the health of the economy that helps us ride out the storm.
