Markets & Industries
Gartner expects global IT spending to grow by 8% in 2024 - 10/20/2023
According to research firm Gartner, global investment in information technology (IT) will reach over $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8%. The analysts project a 3.5% growth in IT spending to $4.69 trillion in 2023. According to Gartner's July prediction, growth would reach $4.71 trillion in 2023 and $5.13 trillion in 2024. Global IT spending increased by 2.9% to $4.53 trillion by the end...
WSA adjusts forecast for global steel demand in 2023 - 10/18/2023
The World Steel Association's (WSA) 2023 global steel demand prediction has been lowered. The organization projects that in 2023, the world's steel consumption would rise by 1.8% to 1,814.5 million tons. The group predicted in April that this year's consumption would increase by 2.3% to 1.822 billion tons. Compared to a 1.7% increase predicted in the spring, the WSA now projects a 1.9% growth...
People's Bank of China injects 789 billion yuan into economy under MLF - 10/17/2023
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the nation's central bank, pumped 789 billion yuan ($108 billion) into the financial system as part of a medium-term lending facility (MLF) program. According to the PBOC statement, the interest rate on one-year loans made under the MLF stayed at 2.5 percent. When the Central Bank last adjusted it in August, the difference was 15 basis points (bps). October...
Global copper market forecasted to move to surplus in 2024 - 10/17/2023
The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) projects that global production of refined copper may fall short of global consumption in 2023 but will rebound to record levels in 2024. By the end of 2022, 461 thousand tons of copper were missing from the global supply. The shortfall of metal will drop to 27, 000 tons in 2023, while the production surplus is predicted to reach 467, 000 tons (in...
China to place $3.6B yuan bonds in Hong Kong in Q4 - 10/12/2023
China is anticipated to sell a record number of yuan government bonds in Hong Kong this year in an effort to support the declining value of the national currency. In the fourth quarter, China's finance ministry plans to flog bonds valued at 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion). Xinhua, citing information from the Ministry of Finance, writes that the first batch of bonds, valued at 16 billion yuan, will...
Number of corporate bankruptcies in USA nears 2020 levels - 10/12/2023
Number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States is still rising and may surpass the COVID 2020 level by the end of 2023, writes MarketWatch. A survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that the overall number of bankruptcy filings by U.S. corporations at the end of the third quarter was 182, up from 62 in September. In contrast, the second quarter saw 157 bankruptcies. According...
Ireland to contribute over €6 billion annually to two sovereign funds - 10/11/2023
Ireland intends to finance two sovereign funds, one of which is intended to sustain the economy in the case of a potential crisis, with over €6 billion in budget receipts per year. Ireland's budget surplus of 2.9% of GDP was achieved last year as a result of rising business tax receipts from European operations of numerous significant American corporations, such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp.,...
IMF raises forecast for global inflation in 2024 - 10/11/2023
The IMF advised central banks to continue enforcing strict monetary policy and increased its estimate of global inflation to 5.8% for 2024. The fund's researchers reduced their forecast for global GDP growth to 2.9% for the upcoming year after realizing that the world economy is "not gaining momentum". The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its estimate of global inflation for 2024 and...
Defense stocks in Europe and the U.S. jump up amid Israel-Gaza conflict - 10/10/2023
According to the Financial Times, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which could spark a new round of hostilities in the Middle East, prompted a strong increase in shares of defense industry businesses in Europe and the United States. Securities of the Swedish aircraft company Saab, which increased by 8.6%, were the leaders in growth in Europe. Papers of German Rheinmetall, which makes tanks,...
OPEC raises estimate of global energy demand by 2045 - 10/10/2023
According to the OPEC's annual review, the global energy consumption would rise to 359.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2045. The organization's analysts forecasted this number would reach 351 million bpd a year earlier. As a result, the estimated oil demand rose by 6 million bpd to 106.6 million bpd from the projected from the previous year's expectation of 100.6 million bpd. The...
