ASIA: India forecast economic growth of 6% to 6.8% in the 2023/24 fiscal year, slowing from the 7% growth projected for the current year ending on March 31, as a global slowdown is likely to hurt exports. The economic growth forecast for 2023/24 is higher than the International Monetary Fund’s projection of 6.1%, as the […]

ASIA:   Chinese provinces spent more than £42.8bn on tackling Covid-19 in 2022, according to data released by local governments, with the figure expected to rise as the huge cost of the pandemic hits the world’s second-largest economy. Although national statistics are not yet available, at least 20 of China’s 31 provinces have published figures […]

ASIA:   The Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country’s largest commercial lenders, has pledged stronger financial support for spring farming. The bank said it will strive to issue more than 160 billion yuan ($23.48 billion) in loans for spring farming preparations this year and will improve the efficiency of financial services. The financial […]

ASIA:   Total debts owed by Adani Group add up to Rs 3.39 trillion ($41.1 billion) and are “equivalent to at least 1% of the Indian economy”, an analysis by Nikkei Asia shows. As per calculations by Nikkei, the liabilities attributed to 10 of Adani’s listed group companies, including ACC, Ambuja Cements and New Delhi […]

QUESTION: I found it really interesting how you have used the coinage to ascertain the costs of wars and to confirm the history. You have shown coins that show even the opening of the Colosseum. Are there any that record the plagues in history? Thank you for a free and interesting site. PV REPLY: Ancient […]

ASIA: Taiwan will speed up the development of drones for military use, considering the lessons of the war in Ukraine and the threat posed by China, the island’s defense ministry said on Tuesday. Unmanned aircraft have played a crucial role on both sides since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. […]

ASIA:   Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and jointly seize opportunities in the digital economy and green economy, and to work closely on data protection and cyber security. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the signing of three agreements covering these fields on Monday, during […]

The European Central Bank has just announced its monetary policy statement that they “will stay the course in raising interest rates significantly at a steady pace and in keeping them at levels that are sufficiently restrictive to ensure a timely return of inflation to its 2% medium-term target.” Besides inflation, the other problem that governments […]

ASIA:   The IMF has warned that an abrupt change in Japan’s ultra-loose monetary regime would have “meaningful spillover” effects on global financial markets, underscoring the need for the Bank of Japan to clearly communicate about its future policy. IMF’s first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath called on BoJ to take a flexible approach to […]

For the life of me, there is absolutely no logic to any of this attack on Russia except the desire to conquer and destroy it as any sort of a superpower or independent nation-state. Every President always sought peace until Biden who seems to be reading the cue cards for Armageddon. Even Henry Kissinger said […]