Ramey can government purchases stimulate the economy

ISLAMABAD: Cash-strapped Pakistan received a $1.3-billion loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday to support the country's public finances and shore up the slowing economy. The ADB loan comes just days after financial service company Moody's changed Pakistan's outlook from negative to stable. Pakistan is facing a serious economic crisis with short supplies of foreign currency reserves and stagnating growth in recent years. Since assuming power in August 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan has been appealing to close allies like China and Saudi Arabia to provide concessional loans to reduce the size of the bailout package that Pakistan may need from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ADB's quick dispersing special policy-based loan is part of a multi-donor economic reform programme led by the IMF to stabilise Pakistan's economy after a major deterioration in its fiscal position in 2018, according to a statement by the Manila-based regional lender. The ADB said … [Read more...] about Pakistan’s ailing economy gets $1.3 billion infusion from Asian Development Bank

In his first exclusive interview after his release on bail in the INXMedia case, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the government should first admit its mistakes before it starts fixing the economy. Now that the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) has been passed, where do you go from here? Your tweet did hint about that Bill might be challenged in the Supreme Court.It’s not a hint. It will happen. I think already a number of people are getting ready to challenge the Bill. Whether political parties will formally challenge the Bill, I cannot say, but it will be challenged by a number of concerned citizens and groups.Assam has virtually erupted, other States in the Northeast are also pretty tense. Why do you think the government went ahead at this time?Government was taken by surprise when it found that the bulk of the 1.9 million people finally excluded under NRC (National Register of Citizens) were Bengali Hindus. That’s what Derek O’Brien [Trinamool Congress … [Read more...] about Government must admit to its mistakes before it starts to fix the economy: Chidambaram

KOLKATA: Is India in a stagflationary phase? ChakravarthiRangarajan, the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC), spilled the beans in February in his paper titled ‘Growth and Austerity: The Policy Dilemma’. “It is pertinent to note that stagflationary tendencies have already reared their head in emerging markets, like India, where financial intermediation was never a problem,” he wrote, creating quite a flutter. The paper co-authored with Ashok Sheel was published in ICRA’s Money & Finance February issue. But the veteran economist and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor was quick to retract his position, possibly to calm the nerves of Indian policy makers and ruling party bosses at a time when elections are just around the corner. In an interview to rediff.com, he pointed out that the paper did not say India is facing stagflation. “The term used is ‘stagflationary tendencies’ in developing … [Read more...] about Is the Indian economy heading towards stagflation?

Email Updated January 19, 2018 10:18:57 Photo: SA's Outer Harbour in Port Adelaide is owned by Flinders Ports. (Supplied: Flinders Ports) Related Story: NT to retain 20pc stake in Darwin Port Related Story: Landbridge to operate Darwin port under $506m 99-year lease deal Map: Adelaide 5000 Discussions of foreign investment in South Australia's ports have been denied by the State Government after it was revealed the former trade minister met with Chinese company Landbridge last year. Key points:Former SA trade minister met with Chinese company Landbridge in SeptemberGovernment said discussions were about investment in wine, not portsLiberals, SA Best against potential plans of Chinese investment in SA ports Landbridge took control of the Darwin Port in 2015 in a move that was criticised by then US President Barack Obama.Deputy Opposition Leader Vickie Chapman said former trade and investment minister Martin Hamilton-Smith and SA Government bureaucrats met with senior … [Read more...] about SA Government denies Chinese company Landbridge has interest in Flinders Ports

NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has cautioned the government to tread carefully while negotiating for the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement and not to cede space to China in the global textiles and clothing (T&C) sector. “India's trade deficit with China in the textiles and clothing sector is likely to be widened once RCEP is concluded and could be detrimental for its domestic textile manufacturers,” said CITI Chairman Sanjay Jain. The textile industry body said that while the ongoing US-China trade war presents an opportunity to Indian textile manufacturers to enhance their exports to the US, China too would be looking for new markets for its products. “The RCEP trade scenario reveals that India must tread cautiously, particularly with China, as half of India’s T&C trade in RCEP is with China, with which it had a big trade deficit of almost $1 billion in 2018”. This is … [Read more...] about Apex textile industry body tells government to be cautious with RCEP talks