Tag Archives: Economy

Enormous doses of stimulus spending are offering relief from coronavirus damage but their lifelong legacy of debt could seed future crises by hobbling economic growth and worsening poverty, especially in developing countries. Central banks and governments worldwide have unleashed at least $15 trillion of stimulus via bond-buying and budget spending …

Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Thursday, extending declines for the third straight session, as comments from President Donald Trump renewed worries over Sino-U.S. trade relations and added to concerns of a prolonged economic downturn. Trump said he was very disappointed with China over its failure to contain the novel …

Nearly three million workers in the United States filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to cause one of the worst stretches of job loss in American history. More than 36 million people have sought unemployment aid since the outbreak began in the US. The unemployment …

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, after OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, said it would increase supply curbs in June, while other members of the oil-producing group said they want to extend the deep cuts reached in April for a longer period than originally agreed. OPEC and its allies, a …

The US Treasury secretary says the unemployment rate reported by the government is likely to get worse amid lockdown measures put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Steven Mnuchin made the comments on Sunday after the US Labor Department announced last week that the unemployment rate had surged to …

The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy. The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered …

The UK economy is heading for its worst crash in more than 300 years because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new forecast from the Bank of England. The central bank said Thursday that the British economy could shrink by 14% this year. That would be the biggest annual …

Another 3.2 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the US as the coronavirus pandemic triggered one of the most expansive job losses in history, with 33 million people seeking aid since the outbreak began. The country has slipped into one of its worst economic downturns since the Great …

The European Union faces a deep and uneven recession, according to a new forecast from the EU’s Commission. The bloc’s executive arm predicts a recovery in 2021 but warns that the uncertainty is exceptionally high. The Commission predicts a decline in economic activity this year of 7.5% and slightly more …

Wall Street’s main stock indexes opened higher on Tuesday as oil prices staged a recovery and a slew of countries eased coronavirus-led restrictions in an attempt to revive economic activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 209.12 points, or 0.88%, at the open to 23,958.88. The S&P 500 .SPX …

The Iranian parliament has approved plans for launching five new free trade zones (FTZ) in north and east of the country. The parliament on Monday allowed the government to prepare the required conditions for developing two major FTZs in Sarakhs and Dogharoun, areas on the border with Afghanistan. Dogharoun, the …

The Iranian Parliament on Monday voted for the details of a government monetary reform bill which will change the country’s currency name and drop four zeros from banknotes. Under the new law, which will come into effect after the final approval of the Guardian Council, the national currency unit will …

The eurozone economy shrank at the sharpest pace on record in the first quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic forced countries into lockdown. The first estimate of GDP between January and March showed a contraction of 3.8%, worse than during the financial crisis. Separate figures revealed a steep fall in economic …

Stock markets struggled on Friday as hopes of quickly finding a treatment for coronavirus were dashed, analysts said, and more crushing economic data delivered a body blow to confidence. Reports said initial trials of the remdesivir coronavirus drug being developed by Gilead Sciences had flopped. Investors were “reacting badly” to …

A further 4.4 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as the economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic continued to mount. The new applications brought the total number of jobless claims since mid-March to 26.4 million. That amounts to more than 15% of the US workforce. However, the most recent …

US oil prices dived to 22-year lows at just $11 Monday after crashing almost 40 percent in a market flooded with crude and slammed by evaporating demand in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Just before 1200 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery tanked …

The World Bank Group (WBG) is expected to launch health emergency programs in over 100 countries by the end of April to support the fight against COVID-19, with 64 already in operation, President David Malpass said Friday. “In response to COVID-19, the World Bank Group has focused on taking fast, …

U.S. Jobless Claims Top 20 Million Since Start of Shutdowns The US Labor Department reported that 5.245 million more Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment last week. The new numbers include independent contractors and others who previously were not eligible for benefits. That brings the total rise in US unemployment …

US President Donald Trump says the US has “passed the peak” of new coronavirus cases and predicted some states would reopen this month. Trump told the daily White House briefing that new guidelines would be announced on Thursday after he had spoken to governors. “We’ll be the comeback kids, all …

Beaten down by the coronavirus outbreak, the world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast. The IMF said Tuesday that it expects the global economy to shrink 3% this year — far worse …