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IMF warns of higher recession risk and darker global outlook

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks on the global economic outlook and key issues to be addressed at this month’s IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, at Georgetown University in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two principal economists painted very different pictures Thursday of what the global economy will look like in the coming years.

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, told an audience at Georgetown University on Thursday that the IMF is once again lowering its projections for global economic growth in 2023, projecting world economic growth lower by $4 trillion through 2026.

“Things are more likely to get worse before it gets better,” she said, adding that the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February has dramatically changed the IMF’s outlook on the economy. “The risks of recession are rising,” she said, calling the current economic environment a “period of historic fragility.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, on the other side of town at the Center for Global Development, focused on how the U.S. and its allies could contribute to making longer-term investments to the global economy.

She called for ambitious policy solutions and didn’t use the word “recession” once. But despite Yellen’s more measured view, she said “the global economy faces significant uncertainty.” Continue reading

Ex-Fed Chair Bernanke shares Nobel for bank failure research

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

From left, Tore Ellingsen, Hans Ellegren and John Hassler members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announce the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022, during a press conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. From left on screen Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig have been awarded 2022’s Nobel Prize in economic sciences. (Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency via AP)

By DAVID KEYTON, FRANK JORDANS and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Former Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and two other U.S.-based economists won the Nobel Prize in economics for research into bank failures — work that built on lessons learned in the Great Depression and helped shape America’s aggressive response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

The Nobel panel at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip Dybvig on Monday for research that shows “why avoiding bank collapses is vital.”

Their findings in the early 1980s laid the foundations for regulating financial markets, the panel said.

“Financial crises and depressions are kind of the worst thing that can happen to the economy,” said John Hassler of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences. “We need to have an understanding of the mechanism behind those and what to do about it. And the laureates this year provide that.” Continue reading

In Brazilian Amazon, a 1,000-mile voyage so people can vote

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

A worker carries an electronic ballot machine at a polling station during general elections in Lago de Catalao, Amazonas state, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

By EDMAR BARROS and FABIANO MAISONNAVE undefined

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — In most democracies, citizens go to the polls. But in Brazil’s sparsely populated Amazon region, the polls often go to the voters.

Most people in the vast rainforest live in urban areas, but thousands reside in tiny villages several days from the nearest city by boat. Amazonas, Brazil’s biggest state, is triple the size of California yet has only about one-third the population of greater Los Angeles. More than half its cities can’t be reached at all by road, and some are hundreds of kilometers from the state capital, Manaus.

Logistics pose a challenge even in Manaus, a sprawling municipality of 2.2 million people. On Saturday, The Associated Press accompanied election workers setting up a voting place in the Bela Vista do Jaraqui community, a three-hour boat trip from the city. Continue reading

What the war in Ukraine means for Asia’s climate goals

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Tourists ride horses near Wind turbines on the grassland in Zhangbei county, in north China’s Hebei province on Aug. 15, 2022. China, currently the top emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, aims to reach net zero by 2060, requiring significant slashing of emissions. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and SIBI ARASU Associated Press

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — The queues outside petrol pumps in Sri Lanka have lessened, but not the anxiety.

Asanka Sampath, a 43-year-old factory clerk, is forever vigilant. He checks his phone for messages, walks past the pump, and browses social media to see if fuel has arrived. Delays could mean being left stranded for days.

“I am really fed up with this,” he said.

His frustrations echo that of the 22-million inhabitants of the island nation, facing its worst ever economic crisis because of heavy debts, lost tourism revenue during the pandemic, and surging costs. The consequent political turmoil culminated with the formation of a new government, but recovery has been complicated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the consequent upending of global energy markets.

Europe’s need for gas means that they’re competing with Asian countries, driving up prices of fossil fuels and resulting in what Tim Buckley, the director of the thinktank Climate Energy Finance, refers to as “hyper-inflation … and I use that word as an understatement.” Continue reading

Walmart, Target begin holiday early to ease inflation sting

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – People shop at a Target store in Clifton, New Jersey, on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. The nation’s two major retailers _ Walmart and Target_ plan to push deals and other marketing gimmicks for the holiday shopping season earlier than last year as soaring inflation spurs customers to get a jump start on gift giving. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) —

Walmart and Target plan to begin offering deals and price matching offers earlier this year to keep up with Americans pressed by soaring inflation and looking for ways to ease the potential sting of holiday shopping.

For two years now, shoppers have started preparing for the holidays early but last year it was because the global supply chain had been scrambled as nations began to emerge from the pandemic. This year, experts believe it is a rapid rise in prices, also tied to pandemic stricken economies, that will drive Americans to shop early to avoid prices that they believe could rise even further and to spread out the spending as they pay more for gasoline, food, and just about everything else.

The holiday sales strategies, announced on Thursday, come amid what is expected to be slower holiday sales growth compared with a year ago. AlixPartners, the global consulting firm, forecasts that holiday sales will be up anywhere from 4% to 7%, far below last year’s growth of 16%. The current inflation rate of 8.3% means retailers would see a decrease in real sales. Continue reading

More consumers buying organic, but US farmers still wary

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

George Naylor looks over organic apples grown on his farm, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, near Churdan, Iowa. Naylor, along with his wife Patti, began the transition to organic crops in 2014. The demand for organics has increased so fast that the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month committed up to $300 million to help farmers switch from conventional crops. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press

CHURDAN, Iowa (AP) — In the 1970s when George Naylor said he wanted to grow organic crops, the idea didn’t go over well.

Back then organic crops were an oddity, destined for health food stores or maybe a few farmers markets.

“I told my dad I wanted to be an organic farmer and he goes, ‘Ha, ha, ha,'” Naylor said, noting it wasn’t until 2014 that he could embrace his dream and begin transitioning from standard to organic crops.

But over the decades, something unexpected happened — demand for organics started increasing so fast that it began outstripping the supply produced in the U.S.

Now a new challenge has emerged: It’s not getting consumers to pay the higher prices, it’s convincing enough farmers to get past their organic reluctance and start taking advantage of the revenue pouring in.

Instead of growing to meet the demand, the number of farmers converting to organic is actually dropping. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture committed up to $300 million to recruit and help more farmers make the switch. Continue reading

EU wants to toughen cybersecurity rules for smart devices

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks during a signature ceremony regarding the Chips Act at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. The European Union’s executive arm proposed new legislation Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, that would force manufacturers to ensure that devices connected to the internet meet cybersecurity standards, making the 27-nation bloc less vulnerable to attacks. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, file)

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm proposed new legislation Thursday that would force manufacturers to ensure that devices connected to the internet meet cybersecurity standards, making the 27-nation bloc less vulnerable to attacks.

The EU said a ransomware attack takes place every 11 seconds, and the global annual cost of cybercrime is estimated at 5.5 trillion euros in 2021. In Europe alone, cyberattacks cost between 180 and 290 billion euros each year, according to EU officials.

The European Commission said an increase of cyberattacks was witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic and that Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised concerns that European energy infrastructure could also be targeted amid a global energy crunch.

The law, proposed as the Cyber Resilience Act, aims to remove from the EU market all products with digital elements that are not adequately protected. Continue reading

Bill Clinton: ‘The world’s on fire,’ but teamwork can help

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is joined by daughter Chelsea Clinton and husband, former President Bill Clinton, during a late-night campaign rally at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. The first Clinton Global Initiative since 2016 is set to kick off Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in New York City, with top international leaders from politics, business, and philanthropy set to attend and collaborate to tackle world issues. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton is calling on governments, businesses, philanthropies and other prominent institutions to draw together and help a world that is “on fire” as he reconvenes the Clinton Global Initiative, the meeting of international leaders, for the first time since 2016.

Interest in the two-day meeting has been so intense that the Clinton Foundation had to turn away more than 1,000 potential attendees. It is convening a spectrum of luminaries, including Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and actor and water access activist Matt Damon.

Clinton, president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, said he has been amazed by the massive response.

“The world’s on fire in a lot of different ways,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “But there are a lot of things that businesses, non-governmental groups and governments working together can do to help with a lot of these problems.” Continue reading

Queen Elizabeth is featured on several currencies. Now what?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

Australian $5 notes are pictured in Sydney, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. As the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II was depicted on British bank notes and coins for decades. It’s less well known that her portrait was featured on currencies in dozens of other places around the world, in a reminder of the British empire’s colonial reach. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has been depicted on British banknotes and coins for decades. Her portrait also has been featured on currencies in dozens of other places around the world, in a reminder of the British empire’s colonial reach.

So what happens next after her death this week? It will take time for the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries to swap out the monarchs on their money.

Here’s a look at what is next for the paper cash featuring the late queen:

SWITCHING MONARCHS

The queen’s portrait on British notes and coins is expected to be replaced by a likeness of the new King Charles III, but it won’t be immediate.

“Current banknotes featuring the image of Her Majesty The Queen will continue to be legal tender,” the Bank of England said. An announcement on existing paper money issued by the U.K.’s central bank will be made after the official 10-day mourning period has ended, it said. Continue reading

‘A servant queen’: World pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

The Sydney Opera House is illuminated with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability in a turbulent era for her country and the world, died Thursday, Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne. She was 96. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Across the globe, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted reflections on the historic sweep of her reign and how she succeeded in presiding over the end of Britain’s colonial empire and embracing the independence of her former dominions.

Tributes to the queen’s life have poured in, from world leaders to rock stars to ordinary people — along with some criticism of the monarchy.

It was in Cape Town, marking her 21st birthday in 1947, that the then-Princess Elizabeth pledged that her “whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

The British empire soon crumbled, but Elizabeth managed to maintain a regal — if ceremonial — position as the head of the Commonwealth, the 54 nations of mostly previous British colonies.

“The Queen lived a long and consequential life, fulfilling her pledge to serve until her very last breath at the age of 96,” Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, said Friday. “She was an exemplary leader of the kind seldom seen in the modern era.” Continue reading