For the second straight month, the Canadian economy recorded positive growth after an overall contraction for the 2nd quarter. According to Statistics Canada, growth for July matched expectations expanding by 0.3 percent.
The back-to-back monthly increases may reduce concerns that Canada is heading towards recession. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has already stated that so far, result for the 3rd quarter appear positive as well.
Source: Reuters
Spanish regions’ debt burden surged to a record in the second quarter as administrations struggled to rein in spending amid a slump in tax revenue.
The 17 semi-autonomous regions’ outstanding debt burden rose to 133.2 billion euros ($183.7 billion), or 12.4 percent of gross domestic product, from 11.6 percent in the first quarter, the Bank of Spain said on its website today. The overall public- sector debt load amounted to 65.2 percent of GDP, compared with the government’s year-end forecast of 68.7 percent.
Bloomberg
The US Labor Department said today that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.1 percent in September compared to 0.3 percent in August. Predictions had been for an increase of 2 to 3 percent.
Outside of food and energy, core consumer prices were unchanged for the second straight month. And in the past 12 months, core prices rose by only 0.8 per cent, the smallest yearly gain in more than 49 years.
Source: The Associated Press
The Greek economy contracted by 1.8 percent in the second quarter as the beleaguered country deals with a crippling debt load. The pullback was greater than expected nearly doubling the 0.8 percent contraction during the previous quarter.
“Economic growth is likely to remain firmly in negative territory in the second half, given tight domestic credit conditions and the government’s austerity programme”, noted Platon Monokroussos, an economist at EFG Eurobankgiven.
Source: BBC News
New claims for jobless benefits for the week ending August 28th fell by 6,000 to 472,000 compared to the previous week. Employment remains a concern as companies hold off on hiring on fears that the economy could slow further in the second half of the year.
“The rate of layoffs is still uncomfortably high,” said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. “This continues to feed the unemployment rolls. We see no reason to expect an acceleration in consumer spending.”
Source: Bloomberg
Statistics Canada today said that Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by nearly a percentage point in the second quarter to 0.5 percent from 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Stats Canada pointed to a slow-down in consumer spending on goods and services, as well as cut-backs in business investment on residential structures as the primary reasons for the decline.
On an annualized basis, GDP grew by 2 percent in the second quarter, after expanding by 5.8 in the first quarter.
Source: The Canadian Press
A recent survey of industry insiders indicates that US crude oil inventories have increased and are approaching a one-month high. The slowing demand for energy adds further to the evidence that the US economy is retreating.
“These inventory numbers are getting too big to ignore, particularly because this is the case across the board,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. “At the very least they will present the market with a strong headwind.”
Source: Bloomberg
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment which measures German investor confidence fell this month on concerns that the current level of growth can not be sustained for the second half of the year. The Index fell from 21.2 in July to just 14 in August matching the lowest level since April 2009. Analysts had predicted a drop to 21 or 20.
Source: BBC News
The US Commerce Department announced today that the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell to an annualized rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter, compared to 3.7 percent in the first quarter. The result is the latest in mounting evidence suggesting that the US economy is slowing.
According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s national inflation rate was 1.0 per cent in June. All provinces recorded positive growth, but in several cases, the rate of growth declined from the previous month, reinforcing Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s statements earlier in the week where he predicted Canada’s rate of growth would slow in the second half of the year.
Source: The Canadian Press
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