ASIA:   India’s economy is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2023, driven by strong domestic demand, although high funding costs and weak external demand pose challenges. The United Nations report also predicts a growth rate of 6.7% for India in 2024. Inflation is forecasted to decrease to 5.5% in 2023, aided by stable global […]

ASIA: China’s industrial output and retail sales growth in April fell short of expectations, indicating a loss of momentum in the economy at the beginning of the second quarter. This has increased pressure on policymakers to support the post-COVID recovery. The data also revealed a further decline in property investment, raising concerns about the outlook […]

ASIA: India’s annual wholesale price index (WPI) fell for the first time in nearly three years in April, as prices softened across the board. WPI fell by 0.92% from the same month a year earlier, having risen 1.34% in March. The data compared with a Reuters poll that predicted a fall of 0.20%. In April, […]

ASIA:   A Reuters poll of 19 economists showed that Japan’s core consumer inflation likely increased in April due to retail price hikes offsetting the effect of the government’s energy subsidies. The core CPI, which excludes fresh food but includes energy items, likely grew by 3.4% in April from a year earlier, marking the fastest […]

QUESTION: Allison Schrager at Bloomberg claimed that AI does a great job finding solutions based on existing rules and information. But it’s less suited for finding novel solutions to new problems. Somehow, this does not seem to apply to Socrates for there are no new problems anyway. Am I correct that Socrates will find new […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 4.54 points or 0.02% to 29,126.72 Shanghai decreased 9.60 points or -0.29% to 3,309.55 Hang Seng decreased 18.41 points or -0.09% to 19,743.79 ASX 200 decreased 3.80 points or -0.05% to 7,251.90 Kospi decreased 5.51 points or -0.22% to 2,491.00 […]

ASIA: The Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s largest commercial lenders, has scaled up support for the manufacturing sector. As of the end of March, the bank’s outstanding loans to the manufacturing sector exceeded 2.69 trillion yuan ($388.42 billion), according to the bank. Newly-added loans to the manufacturing industry stood at over 390 […]

ASIA:   The UAE and India are expected to surpass their non-oil trade target of $50 billion this year, on their way to reaching the $100 billion goal by 2030. Bilateral non-oil trade reached $45.5 billion between May 2022 and March 2023, with a 7% increase from the previous year. In the first quarter of […]

ASIA:   High prices are starting to put pressure on small and midsize businesses in Japan, forcing a record number of them into bankruptcy as the country lags behind the West in passing along the increased costs to customers.  Fiscal 2022 saw 463 companies file for bankruptcy over rising prices or an inability to pass […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 closed Shanghai increased 27.18 points or 0.82% to 3,350.46 Hang Seng increased 249.57 points or 1.27% to 19,948.73 ASX 200 decreased 4.30 points or -0.06% to 7,193.10 Kospi decreased 0.46 points or -0.02% to 2,500.94 SENSEX increased 555.95 points or 0.91% […]