According to NHK TV, the Japanese government has proposed to Parliament a budget of a record 114.4 trillion yen ($880 billion) for the fiscal year 2023 (April 1, 2023–March 31, 2024). The budget has surpassed 110 trillion yen for the first time; it is 6.78 trillion ($52 billion) more than the existing budget. Particularly, defense spending will reach a record 6.79 trillion yen ($52 billion), an...

In the upcoming years, France and Germany will collaborate on shared gas procurement strategies, French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Sunday. "In the upcoming years, we have made the decision to collaborate closely on gas procurement arrangements. In addition to working on shared platforms, we aim to establish long-term procurement processes," Macron stated during a press conference in...

According to data from the official customs office in China, which was cited by Reuters, Russia was the second-largest oil exporter to China, sending 1.72 million barrels per day, or 86.25 million tons, of the commodity to the country. The number of shipments in December increased to 1.52 million barrels per day compared to the same time in 2021. Thus, China purchased eight percent more Russian...

According to Gita Gopinath, the IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, global inflation would decline in 2023 and 2024. Ms. Gopinath expects that global inflation would slow this year and the following. She added that a lot of unexpected events had recently happened, "so things can go horribly wrong." According to her, the fact that inflation is reverting to a manageable level should be...

A joint energy cooperation memorandum between the UK and the UAE has been signed. According to a statement posted on the British government website, the UK and the United Arab Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the area of green energy. The statement read, "(UK Energy Secretary) Grant Shapps signed an agreement during a visit to Abu Dhabi to facilitate the...

As a result of underinvestment, rising global inflation, and a tightening financial climate, the World Bank has increased its forecast for global growth from 3% for both years in the prior version to 1.7% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024. The World Bank Group's new projection for the international economy was unveiled on January 10 and combines the WB's regular semi-annual forecast with some analysis...

According to Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there is mounting evidence that the US may avoid recession this year. According to the IMF, the US GDP will increase by 1% in 2023. Ms. Georgieva claims that despite interest rate increases, the US labor markets are still robust and consumer demand is high. The US economy, according to her, "has more...

According to a study by the worldwide consulting firm Oxford Economics, this year's rate increase by the European Central Bank (ECB) could negatively affect GDP growth in the eurozone, the center of the European Union's economy. Oxford Economics stated that the unprecedented sequence of rate hikes by the central bank "risks becoming a mistake of excessive belt-tightening that will hurt eurozone...

A quarter of Africa's population, or 350 million people, experience food shortages, according to Robert Mardini, Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who was speaking at the People and Defense conference. Mardini contends that as the Ukraine crisis continues, its detrimental impacts spread more widely. He specifically cited growing poverty, unprecedented levels...