world economy

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Euro zone consumer confidence rose by 0.6 points in February from the January number, figures released on Thursday showed. The European Commission said a flash estimate showed euro zone consumer morale improved to -13.6 this month from -14.2 in January. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise to -14.0. In the European Union as …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Factory output growth slowed in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region in February as input prices surged, with a measure of prices paid for production materials climbing to the highest in nearly two-and-a-half years even before most of the new tariffs on imports imposed by President Donald Trump are due to take effect. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

The European Commission will propose at least five packages this year to ease regulation, European Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen said on Thursday. “I personally think that we have too much of a heavy administrative burden and bureaucracy,” Virkkunen, the EU Commission’s vice president for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, told reporters in Helsinki. “That …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

China’s central bank vowed on Thursday to provide strong financial support for the healthy development of private economy and the growth of private enterprises. The People’s Bank of China will further smooth the channels for stock, bond and loan financing for private enterprises, it said in a meeting readout. The meeting was aimed at studying …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Uncertainty over how the U.S. Treasury will manage debt issuance over the next few months drove some Federal Reserve officials to contemplate at their last policy meeting slowing or pausing the ongoing drawdown of their balance sheet until greater clarity arrives. Fed officials, in minutes of the central bank’s January 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

The People’s Bank of China left its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged on Thursday as widely expected, as Beijing grapples with shoring up economic growth and stemming weakness in the . The PBOC left its one-year at 3.10%, while the , which factors into mortgage prices, was left unchanged at 3.60%. The move was widely …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Last week should have been the final wake-up call for Europe to up its game on defence security. This is a trend that started under Donald Trump’s first presidency, persisted with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and now appears to be continuing in Trump’s second presidency with minimal US military support in Europe. The end …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting that the labor market remained on solid ground in February. There were no signs yet in the report from the Labor Department on Thursday of the mass layoffs of federal government workers and deep spending cuts being pursued by Republican …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Greece on Thursday set a new record by collecting 21.7 billion euros ($22.64 billion) in revenues from tourism last year, partly offsetting a drop in total exports of other services and goods and higher imports. Tourism revenues came in line with the government’s forecast and broke a previous record of 20.6 billion euros in 2023, …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Reduced workloads faced by some employees may make them save up excessively out of fear of losing their jobs, a European Central Bank study argued on Thursday, hoping to answer a key economic puzzle that has wrong-footed policymakers for the past year. With employment breaking record highs, the ECB has long expected consumption to take …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

The extra premium that heavily indebted governments like France and Italy must pay to borrow hit new lows on Wednesday, as investors bet on more issuance of joint European Union debt to fund military spending. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Joint EU borrowing for new investment would boost economic growth while avoiding additional burdens on individual member …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

UBS Global Research expects the Bank of England (BoE) to deliver a total of 75 basis points of interest rate cuts this year after higher-than-expected inflation and wage growth data. UBS forecasts the central bank will cut rates by 25 bps at each of its policy meetings in May, August and November taking the Bank …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Decoupling from Russian energy isn’t just about keeping the lights on. It’s about sparking local industries, drawing investment, and fuelling a more dynamic economy. Energy security used to be an afterthought in Central and Eastern Europe. Natural gas? Russia provided it. Oil? Again, mainly Russian. Decades of deals locked nations into what seemed like a …

by hellenicshippingnews… on 20 February 2025 at 10:00 pm

Almost nine out of 10 Japanese companies expect U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies to negatively affect business, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, the clearest sign yet of mounting worry in the United States’ top foreign direct investor. The results of the survey show how the prospect of higher tariffs and increased trade friction between …