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  • Jim O'Neill on BRIC Nations, 'Emerging Economies' no Longer

    In his book, The Growth Map: Economic Opportunity in the BRICs and Beyond , Jim O'Neill argues that the term emerging markets no longer applies to the BRIC nations (and a few others, including Mexico and Korea). While he has long been bullish on the economies of Brazil, India, and China, O'Neil--chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management--has come to realize that, in many ways, these economies have earned a little more respect as strong, stable markets. He spoke recently with Charlie Rose about the strength of the BRIC economies, and how we all need to stop regarding "growth markets" as "developing." Here is an excerpt: Watch the full interview here .

  • The Case for Continued Growth in Latin America

    Since 2008, some Latin American economies--we're looking at you, Brazil--have managed to do quite well relative to the economies in other regions. But as we see China and India losing a bit of momentum, might these Latin American nations be more vulnerable to global slowdowns? Paulo Levy of IPEA , the applied economic research institute of the Brazilian government, thinks there is a good chance that Latin American economies will have another year of strong performance. At Project Syndicate , he predicts 4% growth over the year. That's not a stunning figure, but it is likely to be well ahead of the pace elsewhere. Levy: One reason for this prediction is that abundant liquidity in international markets and continuing high demand from China and India may prevent commodity prices – especially for agricultural products – from falling as much as they did during the 2008-2009 crisis. Gains in terms of trade have been crucial for growth in Latin America, given the region’s low domestic saving rates, because they encourage investment but have relatively little negative impact on current-account balances. Strong capital inflows, especially of foreign direct investment, and terms-of-trade recovery since 2009 have made the region less vulnerable to external shocks – that is, to recurrence of the abrupt capital-flow reversal that occurred in late 2008 and early 2009. More importantly, most Latin American countries now have in place counter-cyclical measures to mitigate any negative external impact. For example, many countries that were tightening their monetary policy when the first signs of turbulence emerged have either put interest-rate hikes on hold, or, like Brazil, have already started to reduce rates. Most Latin American countries’ recent adjustments, moreover, have prevented their budget positions and current-account deficits from becoming sources of vulnerability. This appears to be the case, for example, in Peru, where sound fiscal policies have kept deficits and inflation under control. It is also true in Colombia, where strong budget revenues could allow for a temporary spending boost to counter external risks. Noteworthy exceptions are Argentina and Venezuela, where macroeconomic tensions have reduced the scope for counter-cyclical action, and Mexico, whose fate is bound by extensive trade links to that of the United States. Read Southern Resilience here .

  • Stephen Roach: 'Odds of a hard landing in China and India remain low'

    We find it hard to talk about China without talking about India. Sometimes, for the sake of economic comparison, we pit the two against each other. Other times we pit the two, often along with South American kindred spirit Brazil, against the developed economies of the West. india and China seemed to zag while the rest of the world zigged during the global economic crisis, and were able to grow while the US, China, and Europe stagnated. But as 2011 ends, the two growing powerhouse economies are showing some vulnerability. At Project Syndicate , Stephen Roach warns us not to carried away by concerns that China and India will struggle in the coming year. He is a little worried about India's ability to avert crisis. As for China, Roach says not to expect a "hard landing," as China's policymakers have taken necessary action to ward off any major downfall: That is particularly evident in Chinese officials’ successful campaign against inflation. Administrative measures in the agricultural sector, aimed at alleviating supply bottlenecks for pork, cooking oil, fresh vegetables, and fertilizer, have pushed food-price inflation lower. This is the main reason why the headline consumer inflation rate receded from 6.5% in July 2011 to 4.2% in November. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China, which hiked benchmark one-year lending rates five times in the 12 months ending this October, to 6.5%, now has plenty of scope for monetary easing should economic conditions deteriorate. The same is true with mandatory reserves in the banking sector, where the government has already pruned 50 basis points off the record 21.5% required-reserve ratio. Relatively small fiscal deficits – only around 2% of GDP in 2010 – leave China with an added dimension of policy flexibility should circumstances dictate. India, however, "is more problematic," Roach notes: India is more problematic. As the only economy in Asia with a current-account deficit, its external funding problems can hardly be taken lightly. Like China, India’s economic-growth momentum is ebbing. But unlike China, the downshift is more pronounced – GDP growth fell through the 7% threshold in the third calendar-year quarter of 2011, and annual industrial output actually fell by 5.1% in October. But the real problem is that, in contrast to China, Indian authorities have far less policy leeway. For starters, the rupee is in near free-fall. That means that the Reserve Bank of India – which has hiked its benchmark policy rate 13 times since the start of 2010 to deal with a still-serious inflation problem – can ill afford to ease monetary policy. Moreover, an outsize consolidated government budget deficit of around 9% of GDP limits India’s fiscal-policy discretion. Read Why India is Riskier than China here .

  • OECD: Signs of a Slowdown

    The OECD 's composite leading indicators (CLIs) are "designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend." The CLIs for August, just released today, are now pointing toward a global slowdown: Anything below that 100 marker points to economic activity below the long term trend. The August numbers show most countries in the OECD already below the line. India, Brazil and China are all below the line as well, with India and Brazil well below. The US, Germany, and Russia are looking better, but are also trending toward slowdown. Japan, is an outlier. Its CLI "continues to indicate a potential turning-point in economic activity." See the specific CLIs for OECD countries here .

  • The IMF Growth Tracker Showing Moderating Growth Across Global Economy

    The IMF's World Economic Outlook shows a worrying global economic slowdown, led by Europe and the US. Among the many causes cited for slowing economic activity is the lack of demand in the private sector. The IMF's researchers suggest that they expected a quicker "handover from public to private demand." The tsunami and earthquake damage in Japan also bears some of the blame, as do disruption in oil supplies in North Africa this year. A lasting, and troubling factor is the lack of confidence on the part of consumers and businesses in developed economies of the West. The ripple effects of the dip in confidence are being felt around the globe. Note the impact on growth, as shown in the IMF's Growth Tracker : From the report: Worryingly, various consumer and business confidence indicators in advanced economies have retreated sharply, rather than strengthened as might have been expected in the presence of mostly temporary shocks that are unwinding. Accordingly, the IMF’s Growth Tracker (Figure 1.4, top panel) points to low growth over the near term. WEO projections assume that policymakers keep their commitments and the financial turmoil does not run beyond their control, allowing confidence to return as conditions stabilize. The return to stronger activity in advanced economies will then be delayed rather than derailed by the turmoil. Read the World Economic Outlook, and watch video of the IMF staff discussing their findings, here .

  • US Job Creation and GDP Growth

    We know job creation has lagged GDP growth in the last two years. But Worthwhile Canadian Initiative hammers that point home in these two graphs (focus on the dark blue line): For the full size graphs, and for some interpretation, read here . (Hat tip Salon's Andrew Leonard )

  • Britain Exits Recession

    0.1. Not a very imposing number. But the very fact that it is 0.1 and not -0.1 or even 0.0 is the key. Because in the lat quarter of 2009, Britain experienced 0.1% growth. And that means the UK has finally joined the US and the other major economies in exiting recession. Here's a map from the Guardian that marks European nations that have exited recession at this point: Use an interactive version of the map at The Guardian by clicking here . The Guardian's Ashley Seager points out that the figures are disappointing and lower than economic forecasters projected. And while the announcement brings about a sense of "relief," he is bracing for a slow and difficult recovery: That is not to say that the first quarter could not bring a nasty surprise and show contraction again, as has often happened at the tail-end of previous recessions. Indeed, we always need two consecutive quarters of contraction to say we are in recession . It might be safer to wait for a positive first quarter figure to declare this one definitely over. The question is, though, where do we go from here? The answer is, hopefully, upwards. But in truth the recovery could be a slow, protracted affair . The consumer is still weighed down by debt, and unemployment, though seemingly topping out, is still very high. Household finances are also going to get squeezed by a fiscal tightening that will begin some time after the general election. Remember, too, that the banking system remains extremely fragile and banks largely unwilling to lend. The conditions don't look to be in place for the sort of V-shaped rebound that the economy has seen in the past after recessions. Read Recession's over but we're now out of the woods yet here .

  • IMF Projects Global Growth of -1.3%

    The International Monetary Fund released its April World Economic Outlook report today, and economists and policy makers around the globe are squirming over its findings. The latest IMF projections show the global economy in its worst recession since World War II. The global economy is in a severe recession inflicted by a massive financial crisis and an acute loss of confidence. Wide-ranging and often unorthodox policy responses have made some progress in stabilizing financial markets but have not yet restored confidence nor arrested negative feedback between weakening activity and intense financial strains. While the rate of contraction is expected to moderate from the second quarter onward, global activity is projected to decline by 1.3 percent in 2009 as a whole before rising modestly during the course of 2010 (see right). This turnaround depends on financial authorities acting decisively to restore financial stability and fiscal and monetary policies in the world’s major economies providing sustained strong support for aggregate demand. The U.S. economy is projected to contract at a rate of 3.8% (-3.8% growth), while Britain is expected to see contraction of 4.1%. Japan is heading for growth of -6.2%. The Euro Area as a whole is projected to see -4.2% growth--Germany leading the way at -5.6%; -3.0% for France and Spain, and -4.4% for Italy. China and India are projected to see economic growth of 6.5% and 4.5%, respectively. The report does project global economic growth for 2010, but at a relatively slow rate of 1.9%. You can read the first chapter of the report here , or a summary from the IMF press office here . And watch Olivier Blanchard (at left), director of IMF's Research Department, introduce the report by clicking here .