Wed. Oct 9th, 2024

TRADE & COMMERCE

LATEST NEWS

Kazakhstan: IMF Executive Board Concludes the 2023 Article IV Consultation

Directors encouraged the authorities to accelerate structural reforms to boost competitiveness, promote diversification and sustain stronger long-term economic growth. Key priorities include downsizing the state footprint in the economy and improving public sector governance, reducing corruption-related vulnerabilities, addressing infrastructure gaps and removing trade distortions.

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07/02/2024

Ensuring euro money transfers arrive within ten seconds

On Wednesday, MEPs adopted new rules to ensure transferred funds arrive immediately into the bank accounts of retail customers and businesses across the EU.
The new regulation aims to make sure that retail clients and businesses, especially SMEs, will not have to wait for their money, as well as to enhance the safety of transfers. Banks and other payment service providers (PSPs) will have to ensure credit transfers are

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07/02/2024

Sweden: IMF Staff Concluding Statement of the 2024 Article IV Mission

After a strong post-pandemic recovery, economic activity has slowed amid sharply tighter financial conditions and a challenging external economic environment. Following a mild recession in 2023, growth is projected to remain subdued in 2024, averaging 0.2 percent. Headline inflation (HICP), which reached 10.8 percent (y/y) at end-2022 and has since been declining, is projected to average 2.6 percent in 2024 and reach target in the first half of 2025, supported

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07/02/2024

IMF staff concludes visit to Lithuania

“The negative terms-of trade shock caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in high inflation and increasing interest rates weighing on households’ purchasing power and firms’ investment appetite. This, combined with weak external demand, resulted in a mild contraction of the economy last year. However, external demand is expected to recover this year while the labor market remains strong with robust wage growth above inflation since last summer. Looking forward,

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07/02/2024

Decline in social expenditure in 2022 in Switzerland and Europe

Expenditure on social benefits in Switzerland reached CHF 207.8 billion in 2022, a decline of CHF 4.2 billion (–2.0%) on 2021 in real terms. A fall in social expenditure was also recorded in most European countries (median: –3.5%). In 2020, expenditure had reached an all-time high in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend is largely explained by post-COVID-19 economic recovery and the rise in prices following the war

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05/02/2024
graph, diagram, growth

OECD: Growth continuing at a modest pace through 2025, inflation declining

Global growth is holding up, while the pace of growth remains uneven across countries and regions, and inflation is still above targets, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Outlook.
The Outlook projects global GDP growth of 2.9% in 2024 and a slight improvement to 3.0% in 2025, broadly in line with the previous OECD projections from November 2023. Asia is expected to continue to account for the bulk

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05/02/2024

Kosovo/France: Order issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo regarding cash transactions

This order, which was decided upon in a rushed, unconcerted manner, will impact the daily life of the Serbian community in Kosovo, which is heavily dependent on payments from Serbia made in Serbian dinars.
Given the absence of alternative solutions at this time, France calls for the immediate suspension of this measure in order to allow for a sufficient transition period. We call on the Kosovar authorities to find

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03/02/2024

China: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2023 Article IV Consultation

China’s economic activity rebounded in 2023 following the post‑COVID reopening with real GDP estimated to have grown broadly in line with the authorities’ growth target of around 5 percent. The recovery was driven by domestic demand, particularly private consumption, and assisted by supportive macroeconomic policies, including further relaxation of monetary policy, tax relief for firms and households, and fiscal spending on disaster relief. [2] Looking ahead, growth is projected to

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03/02/2024

The Future of Banking – U.S. Fed Governor Michelle W. Bowman

“In light of the recent direction of public policy affecting the financial system and bank regulation, my remarks today will discuss the potential impact of this current approach on the long-term future of banking. Too often, when we think about the future of banking, we focus only on today’s most pressing issues and problems, some of which will be fleeting and may not have long-term impacts on the banking system.”

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03/02/2024

SMEs’ access to finance: EU Council and Parliament adopt provisional agreement

The EU Council and the European Parliament today reached a provisional agreement on the directive on multiple-vote share structures for companies seeking admission to trading of their shares on an SME growth market. The directive aims at encouraging company owners, especially owners of SMEs, to list the shares of their company for the first time on an SME growth market using multiple-vote share structures.

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02/02/2024
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