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Home Price Key Reason Some Voters Frustrated by US Economy

WASHINGTON — Lori Shelton can’t fathom ever having the money to buy a home — and that’s a major reason why so many voters feel down on the economy ahead of this year’s presidential election. Shelton, 67, drives an Uber to help pay rent in Aurora, Colorado. An advance on her pay covered her apartment’s security deposit. But it also cut into her next paycheck, leaving her bank account dangerously low when the rent was due — a cycle that never seems to end. “I’m always one step behind,” said Shelton, …


Observers: US Investments in Philippines Seen Easing Reliance on China

Taipei, Taiwan — During a trade mission visit to Manila this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced plans to invest more than $1 billion in the Philippines’ tech sector and help double the number of semiconductor factories in the country. Observers say the pledge and visit highlight the Southeast Asian nation’s growing importance to Washington and will also help reduce the Philippine economy’s reliance on China. “U.S. companies have realized that our chip supply chain is way too concentrated in just a few countries in the world,” Raimondo said in …


US Inflation Rises in February in Sign Price Pressures Remain Elevated

WASHINGTON — Consumer prices in the United States picked up last month, a sign that inflation remains a persistent challenge for the Federal Reserve and for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, both of which are counting on a steady easing of price pressures this year.  Prices rose 0.4% from January to February, higher than the previous month’s figure of 0.3%, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Compared with a year earlier, consumer prices rose 3.2% last month, faster than January’s 3.1% annual pace.  Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called “core” prices …


Chinese Officials Acknowledge Economic Challenges

BEIJING — China needs to do more to boost employment and stabilize its property market, top officials acknowledged Saturday, as policymakers struggle to revive the country’s battered economy.  Beijing is grappling with a prolonged property sector crisis, record youth unemployment and a global slowdown hammering demand for Chinese goods.  Youth unemployment hit an unprecedented 21.3% in mid-2023 before officials paused publishing monthly figures.  Home prices have in turn fallen for months, with several major property developers struggling to stay afloat.  And on the sidelines of a weeklong annual meeting of the …


Egypt Says It Reached Deal With IMF to Increase Bailout Loan

CAIRO — Egypt said Wednesday it has reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund to increase a bailout loan to $8 billion.  Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced the news in televised comments on Wednesday. Egypt has for months negotiated with the IMF to increase a $3 billion bailout loan that both parties reached in 2022.  Madbouly said the new deal will enable the government to receive loans from other financial institutions, including the World Bank.  The announcement came hours after Egypt’s Central Bank raised its main interest rate and floated …


China Unveils Ambitious Economic Growth Target Despite Weak Public Confidence

Taipei, Taiwan — China’s top leaders set an ambitious economic growth target of 5% for 2024 Tuesday, vowing to “seek progress while maintaining stability” amid a sluggish economy and weak confidence among investors and consumers.  Delivering his first work report since assuming the second-most powerful position in China last October, Chinese Premier Li Qiang acknowledged that China faces an environment characterized by opportunities, risks, and challenges but emphasized that favorable conditions still outweigh unfavorable factors, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. In the face of weak economic growth worldwide and …


Federal Reserve’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Picked Up Last Month in Sign of Still-Elevated Prices

WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve increased in January, the latest sign that the slowdown in U.S. consumer price increases is occurring unevenly from month to month. The government reported Thursday that prices rose 0.3% from December to January, up from 0.1% in the previous month. But in a more encouraging sign, prices were up just 2.4% from a year earlier, down from a 2.6% annual pace in December and the smallest such increase in nearly three years. The year-over-year cooldown in inflation is sure to be …


Facing Chinese EV Rivals, Europe’s Automakers Squeeze Suppliers on Costs

London — Europe’s automakers and their already-stretched suppliers face a tough year as they race to cut costs for electric models to counter leaner Chinese rivals which are bringing cheaper vehicles to challenge them on their home turf. A big question is how much more Europe’s automakers can squeeze out of suppliers that have already started laying off workers, with many smaller companies hard hit by supply chain issues during the pandemic. The difference between Europe’s legacy automakers and more EV-focused Chinese manufacturers will be on stark display this week at …


Tax-Free Status of Movie, Music and Games Traded Online Is on Table as WTO Nations Meet in Abu Dhabi

Geneva — Since late last century and the early days of the web, providers of digital media like Netflix and Spotify have had a free pass when it comes to international taxes on films, video games and music that are shipped across borders through the internet. But now, a global consensus on the issue may be starting to crack. As the World Trade Organization opens its latest biannual meeting of government ministers Monday, its longtime moratorium on duties on e-commerce products — which has been renewed almost automatically since 1998 — …


Consumers Pushing Back Against Price Increases — And Winning

Washington — Inflation has changed the way many Americans shop. Now, those changes in consumer habits are helping bring down inflation. Fed up with prices that remain about 19%, on average, above where they were before the pandemic, consumers are fighting back. In grocery stores, they’re shifting away from name brands to store-brand items, switching to discount stores or simply buying fewer items like snacks or gourmet foods. More Americans are buying used cars, too, rather than new, forcing some dealers to provide discounts on new cars again. But the growing …


Ukraine’s War-Battered Economy Shows Signs of Recovery

Ukraine’s economy shrank 29% in 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion. In addition, Ukrainian businesses were destroyed, exports were halted and millions of people were displaced. But in 2023, Ukranian officials’ say, the economy actually grew 5%. Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Kyiv. …


Nigeria Grapples with Soaring Inflation, Plummeting Currency

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerians are facing one of the West African nation’s worst economic crises in years triggered by surging inflation, the result of monetary policies that have pushed the currency to an all-time low against the dollar. The situation has provoked anger and protests across the country. The latest government statistics released Thursday showed the inflation rate in January rose to 29.9%, its highest since 1996, mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages. Nigeria’s currency, the naira, further plummeted to 1,524 to $1 on Friday, reflecting a 230% loss of …


Foreign Minister Says Cutting China Out of Trade Would Be Historic Mistake

MUNICH — China’s foreign minister told a gathering of international security policy officials Saturday that trying to shut China out of trade in the name of avoiding dependency would be a historic mistake. Wang Yi spoke at the Munich Security Conference. Host Germany wants to avoid over-reliance on trade with an increasingly assertive China and diversify its supply of key goods in an approach it calls “de-risking.” That’s in line with the approach of other industrial powers in the Group of Seven, which has stressed that it doesn’t seek to harm …


Algeria’s Black Market for Foreign Currency Underlines Its Economic Woes

ALGIERS, Algeria — In a square near the center of Algiers, currency traders carry wads of euros, pounds and dollars, hoping to exchange them to those worried about the plummeting value of the Algerian dinar. This black market for foreign currencies is among the signs of the economic woes plaguing Algeria. The state, reluctant to allow the exchange rate to adjust fully, has proven incapable of limiting demand among the population as confidence in the dinar remains low. The widening parallel exchange rate underscores how everyday Algerians have lost buying power …


Japan Unexpectedly Slips into Recession

TOKYO — Japan unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year, losing its title as the world’s third-biggest economy to Germany and raising doubts about when the central bank would begin to exit its decade-long ultra-loose monetary policy. Some analysts are warning of another contraction in the current quarter as weak demand in China, sluggish consumption and production halts at a unit of Toyota Motor Corp all point to a challenging path to an economic recovery. “What’s particularly striking is the sluggishness in consumption and capital expenditure that …


Zimbabwe Will Attempt to Establish Gold-Backed Currency

Harare, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s government said Monday it is introducing a gold-backed currency to replace the country’s nearly worthless dollar, which most businesses have shunned, preferring the U.S. dollar or South African rand. Minister for Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube told reporters in an online press conference that Zimbabwe was making the move to ensure sustained growth. “Really this is a quest for currency stability,” Ncube said. “What has emerged over the years is the U.S. [dollar] being the most dominant. “Going forward, we want to make sure that the …


US Inflation Slows as Price Pressures Ease Gradually

WASHINGTON — Annual inflation in the United States cooled last month yet remained elevated in the latest sign that the pandemic-fueled price surge is gradually and fitfully coming under control.  Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% from December to January, up from a 0.2% increase the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices are up 3.1%.  That is less than the 3.4% figure in December and far below the 9.1% inflation peak in mid-2022.  The latest reading is well above the Federal …


Consumers Have Fewer Choices as Brands Prune Their Offerings

NEW YORK — How much choice is too much? Apparently for Coca-Cola, it’s about 400 different types of drinks. That’s why the beverage company recently decided to discontinue half of them, shedding brands like Tab, Zico coconut water, Diet Coke Fiesty Cherry and Odwalla juices but still leaving about 200 others to choose from. It’s a move that other businesses are making as well, reducing the variety of offerings from mayonnaise to cereals to cars and instead focusing on what they think will sell best. Stew Leonard’s, a supermarket chain that …


Yellen to Visit Pittsburgh, Detroit to Tout Biden’s Economic Wins

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan this week as part of an election-year push aimed at showcasing what she calls “the strongest economic comeback of our lifetimes.” Yellen will visit Pittsburgh on Feb. 13 and Detroit on Feb. 14 for events with elected officials and community leaders focused on the Biden administration’s efforts to lower health care costs, support small businesses and boost economic opportunity, the Treasury said. The trips build on Yellen’s visits to Illinois and Wisconsin in January …


IMF Chief: Mideast Growth to Slow in 2024 on Oil Cuts, Gaza

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The International Monetary Fund said on Sunday Middle East economies were lagging below growth projections due to oil production cuts and the Israel-Gaza conflict, even as the global economic outlook remained resilient. Despite uncertainties, “the global economy has been surprisingly resilient,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told the Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, while warning of a potential wider impact on regional economies of continued conflict in Gaza. In a regional economic report last month, the IMF revised its GDP growth forecast for the Middle East …


Cuba Charges 30 Over Massive Chicken Heist

HAVANA — Cuba has charged 30 people with stealing 133 tons of chicken and selling them on the street in a rare major heist at a time of food shortages in the communist-run nation.  Thieves took the meat, in 1,660 white boxes, from a state facility in the capital, Havana, and used the sale proceeds to buy refrigerators, laptops, televisions and air conditioners, according to a Cuban state TV broadcast late Friday.  The chicken had been earmarked for Cuba`s “rationbook” system introduced after the late Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution to provide …