Please email me or add a comment if your country is not included here and you find a story of interest to us.
You can also try to answer some of the questions at the end of this post, if you like!
Import tariffs on food have been removed, and there is a good chance that the central bank interest rate will be increased, in order to fight inflation. Government spending will also be tightly controlled this year.
The rate of inflation was 8.4% in 2010, but 2.4% just in January alone (which would work out as an annualised rate of more than 25% if repeated throughout 2011). The government inflation target is 7%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12560719
The Hong Kong economy grew by 6.8% in 2010. Much of this was due to the expanding property market, and particularly from people from other areas of China investing their money into Hong Kong.
However, this has raised fears that there is a speculative bubble that might burst with disastrous results not just for Hong Kong but also the rest of China. Increased property prices are also affecting the general price level, leading to fears about rising inflation.
The Hong Kong government is trying to cool down the property market by making sure there is a supply of new land and new houses for sale - difficult in such an crowded place! Other measures include a 20% tax if owners sell a property within 2 years of buying it, and restrictions that stop buyers of luxury properties borrowing more than 50% of the sale price.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12548766
The Vietnamese government is taking measures to fight inflation, which is currently 12%. The base rate of interest has gone up from 11% to 12%.
There are further fears of increased inflation since electricity prices are due to rise 15% on March 1. There are also criticisms that government itself has contributed to inflation through its devaluation of the currency of 8.5% earlier this month. This was done because of Vietnam's 2010 trade deficit of over $12 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-22/vietnam-premier-to-push-central-bank-to-fight-inflation.html
In a surprising development, Japan has posted its first trade deficit in 2 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12548277
Also this week, Moodys - an agency which rates how safe it thinks different countries' government bonds are - downgraded Japanese government bonds from AA to AA-. This is due to worries about government borrowing and spending. Japan has the world's 2nd highest government debt to GDP ratio, with 196%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12533405
QUESTIONS FOR EXTRA ANALYSIS
1. Why is the Russian government especially worried about the food supply at the moment?
2. Find out more about the Russian government's inflation target: how long has it been 7%? Is there any room for error? What happens if the central bank fail to achieve the target?
3. Find evidence to support the view that the Hong Kong property market is a bubble dangerously close to bursting. Find evidence against this view.
4. Do you think the Hong Kong government's measure will work?
5. Who decides prices of utilities such as electricity in Vietnam?
6. What are the possible positive effects for Vietnam of its currency devaluation?
7. What contributed to Japan's recent trade deficit? Why was it a surprise?
8. Why has government spending and borrowing recently increased again in Japan?
9. From the stories above, what seem to be the common economic problems affecting different countries at the moment?
No comments:
Post a Comment