The South Korean central bank is lowering the key interest rate to its lowest ever level due to the damaging impact of the corona crisis on Asia’s fourth economy. Interest will go up by 0.25 percentage point to 0.5 percent. The Bank of Korea also cut interest rates in March. The country’s economy is expected to contract this year as a result of the corona crisis. A minus of 1.4...
French consumers’ confidence in the economy weakened further in May due to the corona crisis, following the historic decline in April. French business, on the other hand, saw a cautious improvement in sentiment. The French statistics office reported this. The index measuring consumer confidence in France reached 93 versus 95 a month earlier. In April, that indicator dropped at a record pace...
France has to postpone the auction of 5G frequencies until the end of the year due to the current high pressure on the telecom networks due to the corona crisis. That is the opinion of the boss of the French telecom company Bouygues Telecom, Didier Casas. According to Calas, industry colleague Orange also believes that postponing the auction is the best option at the moment. Other competitors...
Japanese manufacturing output shrank by 3.7 percent in March compared to a month earlier, due to the corona crisis. The Japanese government reported this on the basis of final figures. As a result, production declined further, because in February a shrinkage of 0.3 percent was already visible. On an annual basis, industrial production in Japan decreased by 5.2 percent. Due to the pandemic, many...
Germany’s economy shrank by 2.2 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter. The German Federal Statistical Office announced this on the basis of provisional figures. The figure matches the average expectation of economists. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the gross domestic product of the largest economy in Europe shrank by a revised 0.1 percent. An unchanged...
Germany’s goods exports shrank by 11.8 percent in March from February under pressure from the corona crisis. The German Federal Statistical Office announced this. According to the statistics bureau, it is the largest monthly decline in exports since the start of the measurements in 1990. Economists had generally expected a decrease of 5 percent. In February, exports of Europe’s...
The production sector has experienced the largest decrease since the start of the measurement in 2000, the Dutch Association for Purchasing Management (NEVI) reports Monday. The so-called NEVI purchasing managers index, or the NEVI PMI, fell from 50.5 in March to 41.3 in April. This is the lowest figure since May 2009. “This indicates a major deterioration in the state of the production...
The Japanese stock exchange started the new trading week with a loss on Monday. Investors slowed down after the solid turn on Friday and were looking forward to the earnings season starting in Japan this week. A sharp decline in Japanese exports in March also exerted price pressure. The other stock market indicators in the Asian region showed a mixed picture. The leading Nikkei in Tokyo ended 1.2...
French temporary unemployment figures are unprecedented. That said Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, during a radio interview. “We temporarily have 8.7 million workers whose salaries are paid by the state,” said Pénicaud. According to the minister, this is a “heavy but necessary” investment. It affects more than one in three employees and 732,000 companies. According to...
Inflation in China was lower in March than in February, due to weak demand caused by the lockdown against the new corona virus. Inflation was 4.3 percent year-on-year, from 5.2 percent in February. That is the lowest level since October. Economists had generally expected a stronger price increase. Demand for goods remained weak despite easing government restrictions against the lung virus. As a...