Global growth will slow to 2.6 per cent in 2025, down from 2.9 per cent in 2024, due to growing pressure from financial volatility and geopolitical uncertainty facing global trade and investment, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report released on Tuesday. The UNCTAD's T
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in 30 years, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs. The central bank also signalled its readiness to continue raising rates by offering a slightly more upbeat view on
The European Central Bank kept its policy rates steady on Thursday and took a more positive view on a euro zone economy that has shown resilience to global trade shocks. The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro raised several of its growth and inflation projections for the bloc, i
The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Tuesday that global trade in goods and services is expected to exceed 35 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025 for the first time. Despite geopolitical tensions, higher costs, and uneven global demand, which slowed growth momentum, global t
Iran's currency slipped to the lowest level in its history on Monday, nearing 1,250,000 rial to the US dollar on the open rate market, various outlets including the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. The Iranian rial stood around 55,000 to the US dollar in 2018, when US sanctions were reim
The US Federal Reserve will reduce its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point at the December 9-10 policy meeting to support a cooling labour market, according to a majority of over 100 economists surveyed by Reuters. That strong consensus broadly mirrored a November poll and the near-85
Countries must act now to keep slowing population growth from wreaking havoc on their long-term economic prospects, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said in a semi-annual report on Tuesday. The report said ageing populations have already begun to hinder economic growth in some
Poland must prioritise curbing the rapid increase in its public debt, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, adding that it sees rising fiscal vulnerabilities over the medium term. Strong growth in central Europe's largest economy, driven by wage gains and loose fiscal policy, has come pa
Vietnam continues to lead the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in consumer optimism, supported by a positive economic outlook and confidence in personal finances, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday, citing a study by Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB). Vietnam posted the hig
India's central bank is adopting a cautious approach towards cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, the Reserve Bank of India governor said on Thursday.
Within days of China urging its citizens not to travel to Japan due to a diplomatic dispute, Tokyo-based tour operator East Japan International Travel Service had lost 80 per cent of its bookings for the remainder of the year. The small firm, which specialises in group tours largely for Chinese cl
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday said that it has approved a 180-million-U.S.-dollar loan as the second additional financing to support PT Geo Dipa Energy, an Indonesian state-owned company, to further boost the country's geothermal electricity generation. The Geothermal Power Generation
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had agreed to reduce tariffs on China to 47 per cent in exchange for Beijing resuming US soybean purchases, keeping rare earths exports flowing and cracking down on the illicit trade of fentanyl. His remarks after face-to-face talks with Chinese Presid
