Latest news with #economicrecovery
LBCI
6 hours ago
- Business
- LBCI
Lebanese PM discusses banking reforms and Beirut Museum project with French official
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held talks Tuesday morning at the Grand Serail with Jacques de La Jogie, economic advisor to the French President's special envoy to Lebanon, focusing on the latest developments in the bank restructuring law and proposed amendments currently under discussion in Parliament. The meeting also reviewed the expected timeline for the law's approval, along with progress in drafting the financial gap law, both of which are seen as essential steps toward Lebanon's financial and economic recovery. Additionally, Prime Minister Salam was briefed on the details of a planned archaeological museum for the city of Beirut, which is slated to be built in Martyrs' Square, the heart of the capital.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Britain is at the mercy of bond markets as debt spirals, says HUGO DUNCAN
It took the British government more than three centuries to rack up debts of £1trillion. That milestone was reached in 2010, in the wake of the financial crisis. It took just ten more years for our debts to hit £2trillion. They now stand just shy of £2.9trillion – and will hit £3trillion either this fiscal year or next. So that's another trillion racked up in less than a decade. Yes, there's the impact of inflation. And the triple-whammy of the financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy shock after the invasion of Ukraine, all of which pushed the debt higher as the government borrowed to support households and businesses. But as the Office for Budget Responsibility warned in a recent report highlighting the parlous state of the nation's finances, successive governments have failed to take the action required to bring the debt back under control in the wake of those crises. Planned tax rises have been 'reversed', notes the OBR, 'and more significantly planned spending reductions have been abandoned'. That the OBR pointed this out so soon after Labour watered down welfare cuts is telling. Political failings mean the national debt remains stuck at close to 100 per cent of national income – the highest level since the 1960s – with little sign of improvement in sight. And the government's annual borrowing bill has hovered around 5 per cent of GDP a year since the pandemic – levels only previously seen during recession or war. This is a major headache for Rachel Reeves ahead of the Budget this autumn. And that spells yet more pain for households and businesses – because however the Chancellor spins it, another round of tax rises are coming. They will be big. And they will be painful. This is because, far from being a 'beacon of stability' in an uncertain world, as Downing Street would have us believe, Britain is at the mercy of the bond markets. One only has to look back at the Liz Truss debacle to know that twitchy bond markets matter. And twitchy they are. To such an extent that UK gilt yields – a key measure of how much it costs the British government to borrow – are the highest in the G7. In fact, the UK has the third-highest borrowing costs of any advanced economy after New Zealand and Iceland. This is because international investors look at Britain – with its soaring debts and lack of political will to do anything about it – and do not like what they see. So they charge the UK government more to lend it money than almost every other similar economy in the world. To understand what that means one only has to look at the today's figures from the Office for National Statistics that show the UK paid £16.4billion of interest on the national debt in June alone. This was £8.4billion more than in the same month last year and the second highest June on record, amounting to nearly £550million a day and more than £22million an hour. So we are now in a situation where we are forecast to spend £111billion this year servicing the national debt – and just £62.2billion on defence. With the economy slowing, fears are mounting that the fiscal situation is getting worse not better. The scene is set for another punishing Budget this autumn.
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Getting A Job Is Getting Harder With Layoffs And Fake Listings
Newspaper job listing pages, stacked to illustrate job search and employment opportunities and the ... More job hunting process of looking for careers and occupations in the classified ad section of printed papers. For concepts of unemployment, employment issues, recession, economic depression, recovery, job seeking and discovery. Horizontal image with no people. Jobs market data of late, which should describe the reality of businesses and workers, seems misleading. Not intentionally, but through the mechanisms of trailing data and the need to dig to find early signs of what might be happening. A Data Recap The monthly job numbers for June were not as comforting as they seemed on the surface. Although above expectations, that didn't tell the full story. The number of long-term unemployed, who have been jobless for at least 27 weeks), grew by 190,000 to 1.6 million. They were 23.3% of all unemployed people. Government employment was up by 73,000 in June, with state government employment up by 47,000 (40,000 of that being in education). Healthcare employment was up by 39,000 in June. Other major industries — mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services — were flat. As ManpowerGroup President and Chief Strategy Officer Becky Frankiewicz wrote at the time, 'The top-line numbers look positive, but our real-time data reveals underlying shifts. June marked the weakest hiring month of the year, with new postings down 7% month-over-month and 2% year-over-year. Open postings fell 8% from May.' What Else Is Happening To try and better understand some of the larger dynamics in labor markets, here are data about new jobs and job openings in a single graph using data available from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Announced job openings and actual hires. New jobs shows the number of jobs added every month by taking the total number of employed persons in that month and subtracting the employed persons in the previous month. These are jobs where someone has been hired. If the number is negative, there are fewer jobs than in the previous month; if the number is positive, there are more jobs. New job openings are the number of job openings that companies say they have. These are supposedly open positions for which companies say they want to hire. The treatment is the same as with added jobs, by subtracting from a month's number the number from the previous month. Again, it can be negative if fewer or positive if more. To make the graph easier to understand and see, it starts right after the big pandemic swings in 2020. The number of lost jobs in April 2020 was 20,471,000, which makes everything else virtually impossible to see because of the relative scales. The number of jobs added is significantly higher than the number of new job openings. Looking at the averages for each in 2025, there were 127 jobs added each month but only 52 job openings were announced. This suggests that while there is still hiring in some areas, corporate projections of new jobs have dropped. Positions Getting Slashed Many companies are slashing positions. According to a site that tracks tech and federal layoffs, tech 163 companies discharged 80,103 employees so far in 2025. In government, DOGE laid off 67,749 employees and there was a total 178,296 total federal departures. There are serious shifts going on in employment. Many job advertisements are reportedly fake and one study of 1,641 hiring managers found 40% of respondents admitted to posting fake job notices. The practice isn't new, but it has jumped in popularity to create an impression to competitors and shareholders. How many of the new job openings have been fake? To what degree are government statistics being manipulated by corporate trolls? Job seekers, corporate strategists, investors, and even the Federal Reserve have their work cut out for them when trying to grasp what the labor market is doing.
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
President Mahama meets Alex Soros of the Open Society Foundations
President John Dramani Mahama held a highly productive meeting on Friday with Mr. Alex Soros, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The discussion centred on Ghana's notable progress in economic recovery, democratic governance, and regional stability. President Mahama took the opportunity to brief Mr. Soros on the key policy measures driving Ghana's economic revival and the notable progress being made. He elaborated on the government's 'Reset Agenda' aimed at fostering a positive national mindset, ongoing efforts to strengthen accountability institutions, and recent developments within the ECOWAS sub-region. Ghana: A Beacon of Democracy. President Mahama reiterated Ghana's unwavering commitment to upholding the values of democracy, respect for human rights, and the fundamental freedoms of its citizenry. He noted Ghana's stellar reputation for democratic governance, marked by peaceful transitions under its 33-year-old Fourth Republican Constitution. 'We've had nine elections, all of which have been successful. And we've experienced several peaceful changes of government from one party to another, all of which have occurred smoothly.' On the economic front, President Mahama stated that Ghana's economy is recovering rapidly, a direct result of bold fiscal and monetary policies underpinned by robust governance principles. He noted the appreciation of the Ghana Cedi by approximately 42% and a sharp decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio, with the government targeting single-digit inflation in the coming months. The President acknowledged that investor confidence had waned in the past due to governance challenges and weakened institutions. However, he reassured Mr. Soros that his administration is committed to non-interference in corruption-related cases and has instituted strict disciplinary measures for all appointees. 'There was a lot of corruption and a lack of accountability. So, we came in with a comprehensive programme to strengthen anti-corruption institutions,' President Mahama explained, referencing the 'Operation Recover All the Loot (ORAL),' a major initiative to recover state assets. 'You will continue to hear of prosecutions and other measures against individuals who have mismanaged public resources, as we steadfastly pursue accountability.' Addressing the delicate relations with the three Sahelian countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger – President Mahama assured Mr. Soros of positive progress in ongoing efforts to reunite the sub-region. He referred to visits to the three countries to establish channels for continuous communication and dialogue. 'We held an ECOWAS meeting barely three weeks ago, and happily, the whole mood has changed. There is now a clear appetite for rapprochement between ECOWAS and the three countries,' he said. 'Discussions are ongoing between the ECOWAS Secretariat and these nations. In the meantime, we all agreed to prioritise the free movement of people and goods across our borders and encourage transit trade.' On his part, Mr. Alex Soros congratulated President Mahama on his re-election victory and commended his leadership. He explained that his visit to Ghana was part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS. He noted that the Open Society Foundations in Africa have historically championed ECOWAS integration, celebrating significant achievements such as visa-free travel. Mr. Soros, an investor and philanthropist, expressed his foundation's interest in exploring partnerships and providing support for further regional integration efforts. Besides chairing the OSF Board, he also sits on the investment committee for the Soros Fund Management. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
It's time the world woke up and noticed the Argentinian miracle
Okay, it is still only on a par with Egypt and Suriname. But the credit ratings agency Moody's this week gave Argentina its second upgrade since its radical libertarian president Javier Milei took power. It is yet more evidence of the dramatic improvement in the country's fortunes. Growth has accelerated, inflation is coming under control, rents are falling and its debts are steadily becoming more manageable. The dire warnings from the economic establishment that Milei's bold experiment in slashing the burden of the state have been proved woefully wide of the mark. The only question now is this: when will the rest of the world wake up to the Argentinian miracle? While France scraps bank holidays to keep the bond markets happy, while the Chancellor Rachel Reeves struggles to fill the latest 'black hole' in the nation's books, and while even the United States bond market frets about the independence of the Federal Reserve, one country – and a very unlikely one as well – is getting upgraded. Moody's this week bumped up Argentina, a nation that for 50 years has been characterised by bailouts and mismanagement, from Caa3 to Caa1. It cited 'the extensive liberalisation of exchange and (to a lesser extent) capital controls' for the improving outlook. Sure, it is still technically rated as 'junk' – after all, this is a country with nine debt defaults, including the largest in IMF history, over the last 200 years. But the direction of travel is clearly right. That is just one indicator among many. The economy overall is expected to expand by 5.7pc this year despite the huge cuts to public spending and the 'chainsaw' applied to government employment by the president. Inflation came down to a monthly rate of 1.6pc last month, which may not exactly count as Swiss-style stability, but is a lot lower than the 200pc-plus it was running at when Milei took office. The IMF has rolled over the massive loan it extended to the country under the previous administration. Rents, a major problem with housing unaffordable to many people, have fallen by 40pc over the last year after the government scrapped all rent controls, bringing a flood of properties on to the market. Bond prices are rising, with the government able to borrow money on the global markets again. Sure, there are plenty of challenges ahead. Poverty is widespread, and there are still relatively few new industries, although its shale oil and gas sector is starting to boom, with Vista Energy reporting a 57pc increase in output this year, and forecasting it will double over the next 24 months. One point is surely clear, however: in the 18 months since Milei took office, Argentina's economy has been transformed. It has been achieved by radically slashing the size of the state. Promising a 'shock therapy' for the economy, the government has laid off more than 50,000 public sector workers, closed or merged more than 100 state departments and agencies, frozen public infrastructure projects, cut energy and transport subsidies, and even returned the state budget to a surplus. Milei has not followed through on all his promises. Argentina has not switched to the dollar as its official currency, as he pledged it would, and doesn't look likely to any time soon (although come to think of it, on current trends its peso may be a better bet than the American currency). But he has gone further and faster in deregulating the economy than any politician in modern times. The improvements in its performance are a stark contrast to the catastrophe that was forecast, and probably quietly hoped for, by a majority of the Left-leaning economic establishment. On taking office, 103 prominent economists, including France's Thomas Piketty, wrote a public letter warning that 'apparently simple solutions may be appealing, they are likely to cause more devastation in the real world'. It hasn't happened. Instead, Argentina is steadily recovering from decades of mismanagement. The real question is this: when will the rest of the world wake up and notice? The bulk of the policy-making and financial establishment still inhabits a mental universe where government spending is what drives growth, where regulation is seen as the key to innovation, where 'national champions' are expected to lead new industries, while industrial strategies will pick the winners of the future, and the only role for the private sector is a 'partner' for the finance ministry. We see that in the UK, with the National Wealth Fund getting billions in funding even though no one knows what it will actually do, and with GB Energy getting even more for the green transition. We see it across the European Union, with endless regulations that are bizarrely designed to promote competitiveness, and with the Commission in Brussels only this week proposing a turnover tax on every business of any significant size within the bloc. We even see it in the US, with Donald Trump, hardly an economic liberal, imposing tariffs to try to reshape the economy instead of leaving it to the market to decide where companies should invest. And we see it most of all in China, with industries from autos to aerospace to artificial intelligence receiving huge state support to conquer the world. Argentina under Javier Milei is the only major country taking a different path. Perhaps because subsidies, controls and protectionism have turned it into a basket-case, it was ready to try the alternative. The results are now clear. In reality, open, free markets and a smaller state are the only way to restore growth, and Milei is proving it all over again.
