A growing world economy: Clear skies ahead?
What’s behind the bounce back for the global GDP? Plus, what does the snap UK election mean for its economy?
The outlook for global GDP has started to look a whole lot sunnier. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the world’s economy is on track for its strongest growth in half a decade. The IMF’s prediction is that world GDP will hit a 3.5 percent increase in 2017 – that’s a significant 0.4 percent rise from the original prediction of 3.1 percent for the year.
Further positive predictions for Europe’s largest economies including the UK, with a two percent increase for the UK, demonstrating that Brexit has not affected the economic outlook there yet.
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The forecast isn’t just about the world’s richest nations either, with emerging and low-income economies all seeing a more optimistic outlook. But there are still plenty of hurdles to clear.
The IMF’s forecast also contained a warning about what could stall economic growth. This included political pressure to restrict trade and geopolitical tensions that could further hinder economic expansion.
Maurice Obstfeld, the Chief Economist at the IMF tells Counting the Cost about what’s driving the recovery of the global economy and what could halt the favourable outlook.
Also on this episode of Counting the Cost:
The Economics of Brexit: The UK is holding a snap general election in June, one which is shaping up to be all about Brexit. UK Prime Minister Theresa May said an early election was the only way to guarantee political stability as Britain negotiates its way out of the European Union.
Gregor Irwin, chief economist at Global Counsel – which advises corporations around the world on political risk – tells us why policy uncertainty is likely to hang over investment decisions in the UK.
Should you Augment your Reality? Who really profits if we use technology to filter our reality? Last year, the game “Pokemon Go” was a global hit on smartphones. Our technology editor Tarek Bazley explains how Facebook is now attempting to use that same kind of augmented reality technology to grow its platform.
South Korea Tourism: Chinese people are now banned from holidaying in South Korea.
Craig Leeson travelled to the island of Jeju where many tourism operators are struggling.
Published On 22 Apr 2017