Inflation is nothing new in Iran. But its staggering rise is pushing millions of Iranians toward abject poverty.
Tag: inflation
Both Pakistan’s and Sri Lanka’s leaders have resigned recently. Their fates should be a reminder to politicians in Asia and around the world: good economics might not be enough to get re-elected but bad economic decisions can hasten your fall.
A default would be one of the clearest signals that the sanctions are having their intended effect on the Russian economy. But its impact on Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine may be another story.
By deciding to invade Ukraine, the President of Russia did so believing that money would protect his country. By trying to prove him wrong, the West is facing its own potential crash.
Categories
China’s Loose Credit Gambit
While other major economies are taking steps to tighten credit, China is acting to cheapen it, in order to revive its economic activity and help big firms repay their debts. But will it fuel global inflation, or worse, stagflation?
Prices have tripled on the staple product, as farmers and the government blame each other while ordinary Algerians struggle to put food on the table. It’s yet another crisis between economics and politics in the troubled North African nation.
Everything is collapsing: The zloty is sinking, a virus is spreading, diplomacy has disappeared, and so has the rule of law. And the government claims everything is going just fine.
With water rationing, soaring food prices and an economic crisis brought on by COVID-19, Algerians begin the month of fasting in difficult conditions.
The pandemic has prompted financial authorities to take a more relaxed approach to debts. For Latin America, overspending in response to the crisis may take them back to the poverty pits of the past.
-Analysis- LONDON — “We’re at the end of our rope,” is a phrase you may hear these days among lower-income Iranians struggling to survive in a country heaving under economic sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic. It’s also a statement recently issued by a national pensioners association, which has been seen as a “warning” to a […]
Inflation and recession are doing little to bridge the South American nation’s deep political divide.
-Analysis- Turkey is a country with extreme social differences. If the inflation rate rises, the lira tumbles and price stickers in supermarkets are rewritten daily, which means those who already have little can afford less and less. The current currency crisis is making the poor even poorer. But it will not spare the rich for […]
Prospects of a rising dollar in 2018 could push developing countries like Argentina to take conservative measures like raising interest rates and curbing deficits.
The rapid rise in part-time employment has undermined what was, until now, the instrument of choice to evaluate the job market. What comes in its place?
Venezuela is not running out of banknotes due to criminal or speculative hoarding.
-Analysis- Populists sometimes have good ideas. Taking advantage of historically low interest rates to launch a stimulus plan, for example, is a good idea. Standing up to China, which is massively subsidizing its steel exports and restricting freedom to invest in the country through law and might, is another good idea. So too is rethinking […]
-Analysis- BUENOS AIRES — A system of financial markets is a way to ensure the ready fluidity of all the assets that constitute economic wealth. Implementing the system requires “financial products,” which are meant to adequately represent that wealth, directly or indirectly. Thus, all the wealth that is “fixed” in the production process enters circulation […]
GENEVA — Imagine a banker getting on a helicopter loaded with bank notes and flying over the whole country, raining money down on the population. This idea came from none other than Milton Friedman. In the late 1960s, as the economy was struggling, the iconic American economist believed that people would jump on the falling […]
Fiscal deficits cannot be ignored or maintained through creative financing mechanisms, given their potential to turn into long-term debt able to sink entire economic programs.
More than 50 cities have canceled or drastically cut traditional Carnival extravaganza due to public cutbacks. But some say killing the party will only make things worse.
Which is the greater number: $105 or $100 plus 3%? You might think this a trivial question, but about 60% of adults can’t answer it correctly — and many of them still use financial services. It’s an alarming situation. After all, smokers understand they’re taking a risk, if only because they’ve seen the health warning on cigarette packs; but bank clients, especially in poorer countries, are often clueless about money matters. Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey goes further than any of the previous research in examining the phenomenon throughout the world. It’s based on 150,000 interviews in more […]
The extreme economic condition that is now practically extinct across the globe could return in Venezuela if a range of corrective measures that are anathema to the socialist government aren’t swiftly instituted.
Categories
Extra! Food Prices Soar In Venezuela
El Tiempo, August 18, 2015 An already critical economic situation is spiraling out of control in Venezuela, with newspaper El Tiempo reporting that “the word “cheap” is disappearing from the Venezuelan vocabulary.” In the northern city of Puerto La Cruz, a kilo of tomatoes or onions can cost a whopping 400 bolivars ($63), double what […]
President Rousseff has abandoned big spending projects in favor of currency devaluation to fuel exports. Will it save her presidency? And more importantly, this BRICS nation’s floundering economy?
If urban traffic jams and bustling restaurants are symptom of prosperity, long lines outside shops indicate a distorted, depressed economy. This is the current face of Venezuela’s capital.
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s “inflation effect” is being blamed for the “intensive” use of ATMs in the country. Or at least the attempts to use them, because dispensers are increasingly breaking down or spitting out receipts instead of cash. For an increasing number of customers, what they are mostly good for is putting people in […]
The Kremlin is spinning domestic protectionism and anti-West food sanctions as a way to help Russia’s farmer. But it’s really just a recipe of pure politics – and bad economics.
The island was a German colony until 1914, which was once a source of pride and income for many. A century later, this part of its history is deepening Samoa’s economic and social woe.
BUENOS AIRES — Inflation has become a palpable reality in Argentina, as citizens face regular hikes in consumer, energy and transport prices. The 100-peso bill is now worth a quarter what it was in 2007, and several banks have suggested to the Central Bank that it start printing notes in larger denominations. Currently, 100 pesos […]
The refusal to give up amid dire political and financial conditions – call it old fashioned Optimism – helped Peruvians turn into a growing economic force.
Politics is not driving the past two weeks of police-led protests and looting, it’s the rising cost of living. Now, if the administration of President Cristina Kirchner would just deal with it.
Rising prices in the developing world will eventually usher in a whole new paradigm on global currency markets.
Categories
Europe’s New Dismal Jobless Numbers
EUROSTAT, IL SOLE 24 ORE (Italy) Worldcrunch PARIS – The euro zone has registered yet another record high unemployment rate of 12.2%, European statistics agency Eurostat reports on Friday. Earlier in the day, Italy, the third-largest economy in the currency bloc, reported a first quarter jobless rate of 12.8%, the highest in the 36 years […]
-Analysis- SANTIAGO – While Argentina and Venezuela have had to devalue their currency as a result of rampant spending and foreign exchange shortages, the rest of Latin America faces exactly the opposite problem. Local currencies have appreciated against the dollar, which has had three negative effects. It is bad for exports; economies have become less […]
Top Congolese leaders say it’s time the DRC got off the US currency and returned to the local franc. But ending “dollarization” comes with risks if not done properly.
LA NACION, BUENOS AIRES HERALD (Argentina), BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch BUENOS AIRES – Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Argentina’s capital — and other cities in the country and around the world — in a coordinated protest against the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, reports La Nacion. The massive […]