world economy

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

European Central Bank policymakers warned on Friday about oversized risks around their latest economic projections, making the case for caution in setting policy and not taking the option of another interest rate cut off the table just yet. The ECB held rates steady on Thursday and revised up some of its growth and inflation projections, …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Ukraine thanked the European Union on Friday for deciding to provide it with 90 billion euros ($105.46 billion) of support over the next two years – even if the bloc failed to agree on an ambitious plan to finance it using frozen Russian assets. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the EU had backed away from …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

US inflation undershoots all forecasts in November November’s consumer price inflation report was remarkably soft given the backdrop of tariffs and concerns over insurance costs. Remember we don’t get month-on-month data due to no survey being conducted in October because of the government shutdown, but we have year-on-year prints and for headline that came in …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

The Japanese government revised down its view on public investment but largely kept its overall outlook on the economy intact in a monthly report published on Friday. In its monthly economic assessment, the government reiterated a cautiously optimistic view that the world’s fourth-largest economy is recovering moderately, while warning of downside risks from U.S. trade …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Japan’s core consumer prices rose 3.0% in November from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, staying above the central bank’s 2% target for the 44th straight month. The outcome reinforces market expectations the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5% at a two-day policy meeting concluding on Friday. The increase …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Sentiment among German consumers is set to fall significantly heading into 2026 as households’ propensity to save money, driven by renewed uncertainty, reached its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, a survey showed on Friday. The consumer sentiment index, published by the GfK market research institute and Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), fell …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

British retail sales fell last month, official figures showed on Friday, the latest in a string of data suggesting a slowdown in the broader economy ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ budget at the end of last month. Sales volumes dropped by 0.1% in November from October, as a boost from the Black Friday promotional …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Germany is heading for its largest deficit since the reunification between the east and west three decades ago due to the government’s spending plans, the Bundesbank said on Friday, calling for urgent action to keep public finances in check. Berlin is planning to plough hundreds of billions of euros into infrastructure and defence in the …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

The outlook for growth and inflation in the euro area remains highly uncertain due to trade wars and geopolitical tensions, European Central Bank policymaker Olli Rehn said on Friday. “Despite recent positive growth surprises, the geopolitical situation and the ongoing trade war may still bring negative surprises for the eurozone,” Rehn told reporters in Helsinki. …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

European Central Bank policymaker Alvaro Santos Pereira said on Tuesday inflation in the euro area was expected to remain at the ECB’s target level of around 2% in the coming months and any interest rate moves would depend on the state of the economy. “Regarding whether there will be a rise or fall (in rates), …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

ECB policymaker Jose Luis Escriva said on Friday he saw no reason for a change in interest rates and that he expected monetary policy to remain steady in the foreseeable future. The European Central Bank kept its policy rates steady on Thursday and revised upwards some of its growth and inflation projections, a move that …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Business associations in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, voiced disappointment and frustration over the European Union’s postponed signing of a free trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur until January. “The renewed postponement is a setback for Europe’s credibility as a geostrategic actor,” said Tanja Goenner, managing director at the BDI industry association. Goenner urged EU …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

U.S. existing home sales rose marginally in November as economic uncertainty and still-elevated mortgage rates curbed demand. Home sales increased 0.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday. It also noted that fewer sellers were putting their houses on the market. Economists …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Euro zone consumer confidence fell by 0.4 points in December from the November number, figures released on Friday showed. The European Commission said a flash estimate showed euro zone consumer morale decreased to -14.6 this month from -14.2 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise to -14.0. In the European Union as …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

The European Union agreed on Friday to lend Ukraine 90 billion euros ($105 billion) but will not, for now, use frozen Russian assets to secure the loan. Here is what European leaders said about the agreement: EU PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN “We all share one clear goal, a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 10:00 pm

Visions of the Fed’s dual mandate (price control and full employment) danced in the heads of investors on Thursday, with a sour morsel of mid-Atlantic region manufacturing tossed in for good measure. For starters, the Labor Department released its November Consumer Price Index (CPI) (USCPI=ECI) report, or at least part of it. Owing to the …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 6:00 pm

European Union leaders decided on Friday to borrow cash to loan 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to Ukraine to fund its defence against Russia for the next two years rather than use frozen Russian assets, sidestepping divisions over an unprecedented plan to finance Kyiv with Russian sovereign cash. The leaders also gave the European Commission …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 11:00 am

The European Union must reform or risk becoming irrelevant as the rivalry between China and the U.S. sparks a new era without precedent, posing challenges on security, energy, technology and trade, a report led by Tony Blair and Jamie Dimon says. Based on conversations with government, business and civil leaders, the report sets out how …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 11:00 am

For European markets overshadowed by the United States since the summer, investors are hoping a spending bonanza in Germany – the European Union’s biggest economy – moves the dial in 2026. But first, they need to see evidence it will deliver. A Ukraine peace deal could boost sentiment too. European stocks have barely recovered the …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 19 December 2025 at 11:00 am

For decades, businesses benefited from a relatively benign global economic landscape. Today, the assumptions that guided corporate strategies in the past are being challenged. The convergence of transformative forces – like geoeconomic fragmentation, fast-changing technologies, growing debt, demographic shifts, and the green transition – are reshaping the global economy and business environment, creating both new …