Latest news with #Western Europe
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Slight rise in accountants' Q2 confidence amid fragility: ACCA survey
The ACCA and IMA Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) for the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025) has reported a marginal rise in confidence among accountants worldwide. However, this increase does not overshadow the prevailing sentiment of fragility in the profession, with confidence levels still trailing behind historical standards. According to the survey, while there has been a slight uptick in the confidence index, reaching a peak not observed since Q3 2024, the overall mood remains cautious. The new orders and capital expenditure indices, key indicators of economic health, have both seen modest declines. These indices are hovering around their historical average and are reflective of the economic landscape following the conflict in Ukraine. The employment index has shown some resilience, edging closer to its average historical benchmark, suggesting a stabilising job market within the sector. On a regional scale, North America has witnessed an increase in confidence, with US accountants reporting a somewhat improved outlook. Despite this, the levels of confidence are still low compared with past data. In Western Europe, there has been a steady increase in confidence, with the UK experiencing a notable recovery from its all-time low in the final quarter of 2024. In stark contrast, the Asia-Pacific region has seen a sharp decline in confidence, negating the positive trends from Q1 2025. This downturn is largely attributed to the impact of significant changes in US trade policy on the global trading environment. For the first time, geopolitical instability has emerged as the primary concern among accountants when considering global risks, overtaking economic, regulatory and compliance issues, which now share the second position in terms of risk priority. Other concerns such as talent shortages and cybersecurity have diminished slightly in urgency. Climate change, fraud and supply chain risks are positioned lower on the list of priorities, indicating a strategic shift towards navigating immediate geopolitical and economic challenges. ACCA chief economist Jonathan Ashworth said: 'Global growth has generally proved quite resilient in the first half of 2025, despite the large increases in US tariffs and massive rise in uncertainty. 'While the key GECS indicators are certainly not pointing to a global economy in rude health, with confidence in particular remaining low, neither are they suggesting that a major downswing is imminent.' This month, the ACCA disclosed the pass rates for the June 2025 examinations. "Slight rise in accountants' Q2 confidence amid fragility: ACCA survey " was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNA
14-07-2025
- Climate
- CNA
Heatwaves in Spain caused 1,180 deaths in past two months, ministry says
MADRID: High temperatures caused 1,180 deaths in Spain in the past two months, a sharp increase from the same period last year, the Environment Ministry said on Monday (Jul 14). The vast majority of people who died were over 65 and more than half were women, the data it cited showed. The most affected regions were Galicia, La Rioja, Asturias and Cantabria - all located in the northern half of the country, where traditionally cooler summer temperatures have seen a significant rise in recent years. Like other countries in Western Europe, Spain has been hit by extreme heat in recent weeks, with temperatures often topping 40°C. The 1,180 people who died of heat-related causes between May 16 and Jul 13 compared with 70 in the same period in 2024, the ministry said in a statement citing data from the Carlos III Health Institute. The number of deaths increased significantly in the first week in July. The data shows an event "of exceptional intensity, characterised by an unprecedented increase in average temperatures and a significant increase in mortality attributable to heatwaves", the ministry said. In the period the data covers, there were 76 red alerts for extreme heat, compared with none a year earlier. Last summer, 2,191 deaths were attributed to heat-related causes in Spain, according to data from the Carlos III Health Institute. The data from Spain follows a rapid scientific analysis published on Jul 9 that said around 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during a severe heatwave in the 10 days to Jul 2. It was not immediately clear whether the study conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was using the same methodology as the Spanish data.
Russia Today
11-07-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Europe is losing
Western Europe is 'losing' the economic competition with its main rivals, China and the US, and is struggling with a shortage of globally competitive companies, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has 2022, when the EU imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian energy over the Ukraine conflict, growth across the bloc has stagnated. Germany, once its economic powerhouse, is now experiencing its third year of economic has argued that EU restrictions are self-defeating, causing surging energy prices and weakening the bloc's CEO of one of the world's largest banks, cautioned EU leaders at an event in Dublin hosted by the Irish Foreign Ministry on Thursday that Europe has lost its competitive edge compared to the US and is facing a growing crisis in economic competitiveness.'You're losing,' he said. 'Europe has gone from 90% [of] US GDP to 65% over 10 or 15 years.''We've got this huge strong market and our companies are big and successful, have huge kinds of scale that are global. You have that, but less and less.' The JP Morgan boss has repeatedly expressed concerns about the state of Europe's economy. Earlier this year, Dimon told Financial Times that Europe needed to 'do more' to remain competitive, noting that GDP per person had dropped from around 70% of America's to 50%, which he deemed 'not sustainable.'Dimon's warning comes as European NATO members say they need to ramp up their military budgets to deter an alleged threat from Russia. NATO countries have recently pledged to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade, more than double the longstanding target of 2%.Moscow denies posing any danger to these nations, accusing Western officials of exploiting fear to rationalize budget increases and cover a decline in living standards.
