Markets & Industries
World Bank maintains forecast for global GDP growth in 2025 - 01/17/2025
The World Bank (WB) has upheld its projection for global economic growth next year at 2.7%, according to the report from the organization. The WB also projects global GDP growth for 2024 at 2.7%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from its forecast in June. In 2026, the rate is projected to be 2.7%. "Global growth is projected to have steadied at 2.7% last year and is expected to stay at that...
Brazil ships record volume of coffee to overseas markets - 01/17/2025
Brazil exported a historic amount of coffee to international markets at the end of last year, with the volume rising by 28.5% from 2023 and by 12.8% from its peak in 2020, according to the Brazilian Coffee Association. The association stated that “considering the numbers from December, Brazil set a new annual export record in 2024, delivering 50.443 million bags of coffee to 116 nations, showing...
AccuWeather estimates damage from California wildfires at $275B - 01/15/2025
The weather forecaster AccuWeather has estimated that the destruction from California's wildfires could reach between $250 and $275 billion. Recent reports indicate that the fire has expanded across 160 square kilometers. “This is already among the most devastating wildfires in California’s history. If additional structures are consumed by flames in the following days, the wildfires may turn into...
US wants to set a critical minerals market with the EU - 01/14/2025
Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, stated that the U.S. focuses on establishing a joint market for vital minerals with the European Union to prevent China's dominance over the supply of these strategically valuable resources. “The key task for the United States and Europe in the coming four years is to establish a market for essential minerals that...
China cuts civilian drone exports to the U.S. eightfold - 01/14/2025
According to U.S. Customs data, China's civilian drone exports to the United States decreased by eight times last November compared to the same month previous year. The exports of drones from the Asian country to the States plummeted eightfold in November last year compared to November 2023 and decreased by half compared to October 2024, amounting to $2.9 million. That represented the smallest...
World Bank expects commodity prices to hit 5-year low in 2025 - 10/30/2024
The World Bank's Commodity Markets Outlook predicts that global commodity prices may drop to a five-year low by 2025 due to an excess of oil supply. WB analysts wrote that the surplus is so significant that it will probably restrict the price influence of a broader conflict in the Middle East. However, in general, commodity prices will stay 30 per cent above their levels in the five years prior...
Saudi state investment fund to cut its foreign investments share - 10/30/2024
The Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) plans to decrease foreign investments by approximately one third. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of PIF, mentioned at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Tuesday that in the beginning, most of the Public Investment Fund's funds were put into projects within the local area. He noted that foreign...
Sales of electric cars in the U.S. in Q3 add 11%, hit record high - 10/22/2024
According to Cox Automotive, electric vehicle sales in the U.S. during the third quarter rose by 10.7% from the previous year to a new high of 346,408 units. Therefore, their share of total car sales in the nation has increased to 8.9% from 7.8% in the previous year. Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry analysis at Cox Automotive, points out that even though growth has decreased,...
China's central bank introduces credit and swap facility to support stock market - 10/21/2024
China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), has implemented a specific credit program to assist businesses and major stakeholders in purchasing their own stocks. The PBOC announced a program worth 300 billion yuan ($42.1 billion) in September, which will offer low-interest loans to 21 commercial banks for companies and shareholders meeting specific criteria, as a recent PBOC...
Four US IT companies invest over $8 billion in UK data centers - 10/16/2024
The UK government has successfully obtained investments worth £6.3 billion ($8.2 billion) from four US technology firms for data center projects, according to The Wall Street Journal. Specifically, CyrusOne, a data center operator supported by investment company KKR & Co., intends to invest 2.5 billion pounds in British projects set to be up and running by the end of 2028. ServiceNow, a...
